Catherine Reynolds makes needlepoint pillows and a mean cherry pie. She can also gut a kitchen, knock out a wall and build a patio.

"Some projects are difficult," the 38-year-old schoolteacher said, "but it's not rocket science."

Reynolds — who is remodeling her fourth home — and other women are strapping on tool belts, plugging in power saws and tackling projects head-on. It's not just because men are bonding with their Barcaloungers. In many American homes, the man of the house doesn't exist.

Single women bought 21 percent of all homes sold last year, or 1.76 million properties, according to the National Association of Realtors. That's up from 14 percent a decade ago. (Single men, by comparison, accounted for 9 percent of the market last year.)

It's a noteworthy change, given that as recently as the early 1970s, it was tough for a single woman to secure a mortgage.

Startup entrepreneurs and big businesses alike — including Home Depot, Ace Hardware and Lowe's — have taken notice and are working to tap that buying power with enticements such as "do-it-herself" workshops and tools made for smaller hands. One industry group found that women account for more than 40 percent of home improvement product sales.

Reynolds' tool collection was skimpy when she started buying property in 1996: pliers, screwdrivers and her grandfather's hammer, which she kept tucked away in a closet.

Her first home, in Denver, was a "surface remodel" — changing flooring, window coverings and countertops.

Her second Denver home, which she bought for $132,000, was a challenge. She ripped out walls, replaced the wood floor and gutted the kitchen. It sold for $210,000 after 2 1/2 days on the market.

Reynolds, who is single and has since moved to Austin, Texas, says she feels free to buy and remodel at will. Her students are learning from her example.

"When I go to school with paint under my fingernails or chalk in my hair, they understand," she said.

So would a lot of other women.

Divorce pitched Allegra Bennett into the world of home improvement 15 years ago.

When her husband moved out, it was their house that had "a breakdown," Bennett said. Although the Baltimore resident considered herself a "home repair ignoramus," she couldn't stomach paying handymen $75 "just to show up." So she became a "serial fixer."

Now she is the publisher of Renovating Woman, a do-it-herself magazine.

Nonetheless, Bennett was stunned at the response to her first home improvement workshop, which she held in April. She was expecting 160 women, but 300 showed up.

"Our jaws dropped, as did the jaws of the sponsor, who thought it was a 'cute idea' but didn't really understand the pent-up need," she said.

It wasn't a cutesy crowd. The women wanted to know how to reseat a toilet and replace a faucet. And when does a basin wrench come in handy?

"It was like giving them the secret handshake" to a mysterious society, Bennett said.

Certainly, men led the charge in the nation's do-it-yourself frenzy, which boosted spending on home improvement products to $215 billion in 2005, according to the Home Improvement Research Institute in Tampa, Fla. The industry is expected to grow 5 percent this year. In 2003, when the group last tracked sales by gender, women accounted for about 43 percent of the market.

The craze dates to the 1980s, when "This Old House" on television struck a chord with viewers, said Renae Bredin, a women's studies professor at California State University in Fullerton. Although the PBS program was aimed at men, women watched too.

Then, Martha Stewart began helping women "re-imagine" their involvement with their homes.

"If Martha could build her own chicken coop, I could do it too," Bredin said. "I think what we're seeing now is the next step in the progression."

But some women say it's still tough getting the guys in the hardware store to take them seriously. In fact, it remains largely a "hairy-knuckle industry," said Pam Melton, president of the networking group Women in the Hardware Industry.

Eden Jarrin and Heidi Baker know something about the shortcomings of the business — and its promise. They co-founded Be Jane, a Burbank, Calif.-based media firm that encourages women to "be Janes of all trades" by tackling home improvement projects.

"We hear this all the time: 'Oh, honey, you can't do that — you need to hire someone,' " said Baker, 37.

Be Jane is growing. In addition to operating its Web site, www.bejane.com, the company produces magazine articles, videos, interactive CDs and other merchandise, all geared to the female homeowner. In 2004, Be Jane scraped in only $12,000. This year the firm anticipates revenue of several million dollars, said Jarrin, who is 30.

Lynda Lyday of Los Angeles is pushing a line of tools designed to fit smaller hands. But breaking into the big leagues is tough for small players, especially as the competition in this niche intensifies.

"I could have gotten a plane off the ground faster," she said.

Even the industry big boys are hustling to keep pace.

Lowe's Cos., the Mooresville, N.C.-based home improvement retailer, said it has brightened its stores and installed lower shelving, motivated by research saying that about 95 percent of female homeowners consider themselves do-it-yourselfers.

Ace Hardware Corp. launched an "Elements of Style" program in February, after polling showed that its female customers, on average, spent twice as much as men.

"The husband's coming in for the nails and plunger, but his wife is on the other side of the store saying, 'We need to pick up more hardware or faucets,' and suddenly it's into a whole room remodel," said Hilary Bloch, who buys decorative plumbing for the Oakbrook, Ill.-based chain.

Atlanta-based Home Depot Inc. presents "Do It Herself" workshops that have attracted 280,000 women to its stores in three years.

Some women believe the big chains still have plenty to learn. Shannon Tucker calls Home Depot "Home Don't Know" to express her dissatisfaction with its customer service.

The 46-year-old paralegal renovated her Atlanta condo a step at a time, building confidence as she worked her way up to the kitchen, where she installed countertops, laid tile and put a window over the sink. Tucker figures she saved as much as $7,000.

"I feel I could do just about anything now," she said.

Stories such as Tucker's inspired Jarrin and Baker to write their book, "Be Jane's Guide to Home Empowerment," which they say will be available in December. Knocking down a wall, it seems, opens up all kinds of possibilities.

Suddenly, Jarrin said, women start asking: "What else in my life can I take on that I didn't think was possible?"