Jane of All Trades

When I’m on a renovation job, sometimes I don’t know what I’m going to be doing when I walk in the door. On any given day, I might be using a nail gun and a compressor to pin down a board. I might be ripping up floors with a crowbar. I might be 14 feet up a ladder painting walls.

I don’t think I’ve ever done this on a job before, though:

But sometimes curtains need to be hemmed, and I happened to be the person available able to sew a straight line (most of the time). So that’s what I did today.

The sewing machine I used today is much newer and lighter than mine:

Which is definitely a product of the 1970s. If you can’t see the logo, it’s a Singer Fashion Mate. Yep, I’ve had this avocado green girl since my very first apartment. I’m not even telling you what year that was. It was second hand then, though – I’m a little younger than that.

The sewing machine I used today is light as a feather, compared to mine, which weighs almost as much as this air compressor:

Which I was using yesterday to attach baseboards to walls. I wish this puppy came with wheels.

I was thinking today that a tool is a tool is a tool. And no, I don’t mean “tool” in the sense that your ex is a tool. I mean a sewing machine is nothing more than a tool we use to get a job done, just like an air compressor or a saw.

But I still don’t see too many women working on reno or construction job sites. Is it because the powers that do the hiring think women aren’t strong enough to wield power tools?

They should take a look at a home sewing Amazon hauling a ten ton sewing machine out of the trunk of her car sometime.