(Here’s the winning story from our Funny Story Contest at Nita’s Place…)
Boy do I have a story to tell! I can laugh about it now but not at the time that my incident with my embroidery machine happened! This story will also hopefully give you ladies out there a friendly warning about what not to do in certain situations with your embroidery machine!
My hubby and I have taken in 23 cats from various elderly neighbors who have had to be put into nursing homes or foster homes. So, on this particular day, I was busy embroidering various cat designs on a sweatshirt! I have a Janome MC 11,000 and all of a sudden it made a noise and stopped.
I tried turning the fly wheel and it was frozen! I knew that there had to be a mess of thread in my bobbin casing but I also found that the thread on the spool wasn't moving either. So I had the bright idea to open the side of my machine and take a look to see why the thread wasn't moving through the tension spring or the needle.
I moved in very close and was bent over so close that my chest was on the hoop. What happened next was a very big surprise! As I was looking, one of our cats had decided to get up there with me and somehow had hit the start button! To my surprise, the machine took off and I had a hard time trying to get the machine turned off.
Needless to say, that the left side of my chest (no need to name body parts here) had several stitches in it! I yelled for my hubby as I was too stunned to think straight at this moment! I was bleeding like a stuck pig (no pun intended) and what my hubby thought was the best thing to do was raise the presser foot and he pulled out the top and bobbin thread a little and snipped them off.
I have always heard that as head cut bleeds profusely but let me tell you other parts can too! I immediately called my Doctor's office and explained to the receptionist that I had a problem with the left side of my chest, that I was bleeding and that I needed to see the Doctor. She wanted to know how I got hurt and I told her that I wasn't going to say!
I did get in to see the Doctor and when he took a look he burst out laughing to which I took offense. He explained to me that he had heard stories of these types of injuries from other Doctor's but that this was a first for him in 30 years of practice. The Doctor had to remove the top stitching (the bottom bobbin thread had come undone on its’ own)! I was treated for my wound and the given a lecture on the merits of turning off the machine whenever working on it.
So, ladies please when working on your machine DO TURN IT OFF! In my case, I'm still not trusting with it turned off so I always unplug the machine! I hope you get a chuckle out of this and also learned a lesson to boot!
(The author of this story has won a membership to NitasThreadNest!)
Comments (6)
No wonder she won! Guts to tell that story; Guts to appear in doctor's office...well, it makes the little steam iron pointed shaped scar on "mine" pale in comparison! BRAVO!
Posted by Wanda/LA | December 13, 2007 10:50 PM
Posted on December 13, 2007 22:50
I did deliberate for quite some time before submitting this story.
If I have saved just one fellow embroiderer out there from having a very nasty and hurtful OWIE - then the embarrassment is well worth it!
Posted by Alita Long | December 14, 2007 2:24 PM
Posted on December 14, 2007 14:24
So when you say someone's got you in stitches, you're absolutely right! I would have been hollering my head off! Brave gal, I must say. You definitely deserve this win! How's the culprit cat? LOL
Posted by Lenor | December 14, 2007 4:30 PM
Posted on December 14, 2007 16:30
TY Wanda and Lenor. The culprit cat was given a can of Tuna after I found out that my story had won. However, the cats are no longer allowed to be on or near me and the embroidery machine.
Posted by Alita Long | December 14, 2007 9:22 PM
Posted on December 14, 2007 21:22
Holy cow and I thought it was bad when I sewed my own finger....but I am amazed that this happened. I admire that you told this story because on the surface it just doesnt seem possible that something like this could happen. It sure is up there with the odd things that can happen with machines. I hope she is doing better and not too humiliated, she definitely deserves to win with this incident.
Posted by Candy Berg | December 19, 2007 8:43 PM
Posted on December 19, 2007 20:43
Ouch that I can imagine and it gives me the shivers. It's worse than when I got my hair wound up in the wheel and after trying for a long time to unwind it because I couldn't reach the scissors. I finally gave into letting out a yell to my husband and all he could do was laugh and go get a camera and come back a laugh some more. I finally started to cry and he said to me he didn't know if he should call a barber, fire dept or rescue service. I said a few unspeakable words and told him to just cut me loose? He sure did just that and I ended up with a bald spot for some time. I did get it covered with the hair pieces that they cement onto the longer hair. No more letting my hair down while sewing. Snatched me bald is the saying I believe? Poor boobie, I'm so sorry.
Posted by Rosemarie Lacroix | February 28, 2008 1:57 PM
Posted on February 28, 2008 13:57