Safety first pretty please.
 

One of my Patchwork group ladies was rushed to hospital last week, why? She was changing the needle on her machine WITHOUT TURNING IF OFF FIRST and in her hurry the needle went straight through her finger and jammed in the presser foot! They had to call the paramedics who managed to release her from the machine but she had to go to the hospital to have the needle removed, have a tetanus shot and a course of anti-biotics. She said the pain was horrendous but once the needle was removed she felt a bit better and both her and her machine are well on the road to recovery, although she will most likely lose the nail on her finger.

She realises what she did wrong and had learnt a hard lesson, so please take note, have a proper craft light in the right position so when changing a needle or cleaning your bobbin area you turn your machine OFF!

So sorry for her! I'm glad she is feeling better. Safety is very important in the sewing room. Rotary cutting is the number one place for an accident yet very few will use a safety glove or cutting guard when cutting.

Thanks for the caution. I will take note.

Makes me cringe but thank you for the reminder. I haven't ever turned mine off when changing the foot or needle, now I will.

Oh my......I could feel the pain as you told the story.......

My mother ran a needle through her finger when I was about 6yrs old (now a Sr. Citizen) She had the presence of mind to unscrew the needle screw and ran to the neighbor with the needle in her finger. Had to pull it out with pliers. In Jr. High a girl did the same, and I calmly unscrewed the needle. Everyone was flabbergasted as to how I knew to do that! I don't think I would turn off my embroidery machine to change a needle, even though it sounds like a great idea for safety, but I would loose my design, and that would not be acceptable! So I guess I will continue to be sure my foot isn't on the foot peddle (don't use it anyway for embroidery) and don't push the start button. Otherwise it doesn't go by itself (or at least not so far)!

So sorry for her,oh my, awful to think of.One thing I always insisted on was to use the rotary cutter safely---ALWAYS put on the safety catch after each cut,unless you had an automatic cover,as I have seen so many times cuts caused by picking up a cutter with exposed blade,or cuts from a dropped open blade. And Always cut away from you!! Be safe, love Letty.

I did that when I was about 8 on my grandmothers treadle. I just sat there and pulled the needle up out of my finger. Don't remember the pain that much as I did that my mom, grandmother and aunt had just told me not to do that. ;)