Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Pins belong in pincushions, not in lungs

Pins

I've got a bit of a production line going at the moment, making a whole bunch of fabric totes to carry groceries, knitting etc around in. So there I am, sewing straight line after straight line, and every time I get to a pin I stop sewing, make sure my needle is in the fabric and then, out of habit, withdraw the pin and then pop in into my mouth, where it hangs out like Bogie with a cigarette. I'm a cool pin-smoking seamstress, doncha know!

What's so wrong with that? I hear you asking. Well, just have a read about this poor dressmaker from Sydney who actually breathed in a pin - and then got it embedded in her lung. Urgh!

Don't have time to read the whole thing? Then let me furnish you with this gruesome detail:

The whole thing was a joke to everyone. That is, it was until the surgeon operating on me the next day arrived at my bedside. He explained that the operation involved going in through my back between the ribs, possibly even breaking the ribs, and then removing up to a quarter of the lung tissue around the pin.

Yuck! All that from just inhaling a pin. And since I am in the habit of belting out songs as I sew (when I'm not swearing whilst putting in a zip!) then that is totally the sort of thing that would happen to me. So I'm now on a mission to completely break my habit of putting pins in my mouth. I mean, if I can give up coffee, then I can surely give up the pins, yeah?

12 comments:

  1. Holy crap! I've never put pins in my mouth, and I certainly will never start after reading this! Yes, I think if you can quit coffee, you can quit the badass pin smoking!

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  2. I am a put-pins-in-mouther. I have read the stories but haven't stopped yet. But then I couldn't give up coffee either :P

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  3. Guilty. Yep. Even my 6-year-old pulls me up on it. Can't stop sticking them in my mouth....

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  4. Been ther done that when I was 8. Growing up the daughter and granddaughter of dressmakers, putting pins in your mouth was the norm. I coughed mine down and I was lucky that it didn't pierce my heart. It also means that I can't sing as I lost half my vocal chords and have no voice when I have a cold. The kids love those times.....

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  5. voimani6:29 pm

    Okay, maybe I should finally make myself a pin-cushion. I put them into their little plastic box as I remove them while sewing at the machine. Dealing with them any other time (pinning etc.), they spend wating time between my lips. Hmm.
    But you really did give up on coffee? I always wondered if that had worked out. No way I'm giving up on it...

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  6. Yes horrific isn't it! I saw this on someone else's blog the other day and am trying to break this habit too... But I'm NOT giving up coffee!

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  7. Oh, holy cow! What a nightmare!!! You better stop that right now! (do I sound like your Mom)?

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  8. I think I have to change the name of my blog and definitely stop "Eating Pins".

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  9. Oh my - I saw this last week - totally gives me the heeby-jeebies.

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  10. oh my god. oh my god.

    oh my god.

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  11. OMG! I am stopping this very bad habit today!!!

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  12. OMG. I am also going to stop that habit. Eek!

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