Rule #1: When using a rotary cutter, keep your fingers safely out of the way.

amandas-wound1

1 hurt finger required

2 hours in the ER (2 1/2 actually)

3 children going on an impromptu playdate at the neighbors

4 neighbors inconvenienced by my stupidity.

I was cutting the fabric for my brother’s quilt into strips and my finger (which I usually keep safely in the middle of the ruler) slipped into the path of my rotary cutter (nice to know my blade was sharp). I sliced a chunk of skin off the side of the pad of my finger. Since my husband was pretty much unreachable at work, I enlisted the help of our teenage neighbor to help me get the first aid supplies down while I put pressure on the finger. She took one look at my gauze-covered finger and turned gray. I had her call her dad to come help me, but he couldn’t find the right supplies in our box, so I called our other neighbor who brought over some different gauze and volunteered the services of her nurse husband. He came over, wrapped my finger tightly and drove me to the ER.

Lesson learned: Quilting is a very dangerous hobby!

I’ve decided to order one of these. I can use it as a grip for my quilt ruler to get a better grip AND keep my fingers safely out of the way.

bathgrip

The good news: I didn’t bleed on the fabric.