Thank you Roberta for starting this thread. I'm a newbie and the idea of sewing through my finger hadn't occurred to me. My machine does not have an on/off switch and my fingers are often near the needle when threading, changing bobbins, cleaning out lint etc. So I've plugged my machine into an outlet with an on/off switch. Now I am very careful to keep my machine off (essentially unplugged) unless I'm actually sewing. You may have saved my finger!