Rotary Cutter + Left Thumb= Blood Everywhere

Being right handed, I dont often appreciate my left thumb. I assume whatever I do with my left hand can also be done with my right. Wrong... there are some things that require two hands- cooking, typing, hair straighting, putting in my contacts, showers, making the bed just to name a few. Until last night I didnt truely appreciate my left thumb... but now, well I am grateful for it and hope it heals quickly!

I thought the title of this post was appropriate given that it is almost Halloween. The title gives away the story, but let me fill you in on all the gory (haha... or not) details. Last night I was sitting on my living room floor with my rotary cutter, my green cutter mat (i'm sure this has an actual name but I dont know it), 10 yards of black tulle, CJ, and an episode of America's Test kitchen for background noise. I was happily cutting my tulle into 8 inch strips when all of a sudden I looked down and there was a LOT of blood. I hadnt felt anything strange so I was intrigued... but not stupid, so I ran to the bathroom and sure enough part of my left thumb was only partially attached. Okay this is making the incident sound worse than it actually was, I did cut off the tip of my finger, but it just took off part of the tip and some of the nail. No lasting damage (that I know of), and no stitches (regardless of whether or not they were needed). I stopped the bleeding, bandaged my hand, finished cutting the tulle, and made 50 potstickers with one hand (fyi not a good thing to make with one hand).

So note to me and to all of you that own a rotary cutter- ALWAYS pay attention when cutting. Dont look up, away, or blink, you could take off a finger, or a finger tip which is still painful. Another note, never underestimate how sharp the blade actually is... yes you might get away with just touching it (why you or I would be this dumb is another story), but when you are actually rolling the blade it goes fast, if it can cut through multiple layers of fabric, denim, and whatever else you have cut, pretty good bet that it isnt going to slow down for your thumb...