Stitches and Stones (15 page)

That weekend, Zoey invited her friends over for a sleepover. Since the one last mean comment the
day Daphne Shaw posted on her blog, there hadn't been a single nasty remark on Sew Zoey. It was a relief for her to not be scared to look at her blog every day, and she was beginning to enjoy it again without any worry or hesitation. In fact, she loved the great feedback she was getting from all her new readers.

Marcus and his band were downstairs in the basement practicing while the girls made cookies in the kitchen.

“There's a new episode of
Fashion Showdown
on tonight,” Zoey said. “And guess who is one of the judges? Daphne Shaw!”

“You mean your new BFF?” Priti said. “Do you think she'd let me come visit her studio too? I wonder if she gives out free samples?”

“I don't know,” Zoey said. “I just hope it's not too long before I can go take her up on her offer.”

“I just can't believe Ivy thought you purposely criticized that dress on
Fashion Showdown
because you saw her wearing one like it at the dance,” Kate said. “Why would you do that?”

“Maybe because she says mean things about
Zoey, she thinks Zoey would do the same thing?” Libby suggested.

“Or maybe it's like Daphne says—maybe she's jealous or something,” Zoey said.

“Well, I'm just glad you don't have to worry about her and Bree and Shannon being nasty on your blog anymore,” Priti said. “It would have been awful if you'd had to give up Sew Zoey.”

“Hey, something smells good!” Marcus emerged from the basement, followed by the rest of his bandmates. “Any cookies to spare for hungry musicians?”

Zoey checked the timer.

“They come out of the oven in twenty-nine seconds. But if you want some, you have to play our karaoke song for us.”

Marcus glanced at his friends. They all nodded except for Dan, the guitar player, who had a pained expression on his face.

Dan finally spoke. “As much as it pains me to play that Top 40 commercial stuff, my stomach is telling me to sell my artistic soul for a cookie.”

Marcus looked back at Zoey. “You got yourself a deal, sister.”

They all counted down to the oven buzzer. “Five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . ONE!”

Zoey took out the cookies from the oven, and as soon as they were cool enough to touch, everyone pounced. Within a minute, the tray was empty.

“Those were amazing,” said Dan. “They almost make it worth suffering through that song.”

“That song is awesome!” Priti exclaimed.

“Yeah, if you're a middle school girl,” Dan retorted.

“A deal's a deal,” Zoey said. “Come on! Karaoke time!”

They headed down to the basement, and Marcus led off.

Without the entire school watching, Zoey was completely relaxed, and she and her friends had a blast singing and dancing.

“I hate to admit it, but that song is beginning to grow on me,” Marcus said.

“Traitor!” Dan exclaimed.

“Play it again!” Priti begged.

Dan groaned, but he went along with it as soon as the rest of the band started playing.

“No more!” he said after the encore. “Twice is my max!”

“It's okay,” Zoey said. “
Fashion Showdown
starts soon.”

The girls trooped upstairs to the living room and settled in to watch
Fashion Showdown
.

It had been a difficult few weeks, Zoey thought. But Priti seemed a little happier lately, and things were back to normal—in fact, better than ever—on Sew Zoey. It was true. Everything did work out in the end—as long as you took it one stitch at a time.

Who is cute as a button?

Find out in the next book in the Sew Zoey series:

Cute
as a
Button

It's Nifty to be Thrifty

Designing and making clothes is definitely my favorite thing to do, but there's one big catch—buying fabric starts to add up. It's not just the fabric—it's all the trimming, buttons, zippers, sequins, you name it! The only reason I've been able to make so many outfits lately is because of the money I won in the Avalon Fabrics Break-out Designer Contest—and because both Jan at A Stitch in Time and my Aunt Lulu are so great about giving me scrap material. But I'm going from riches to rags, even though I've been doing my best to shop on a budget. My allowance only goes so far and I'm too young to babysit, so Dad said I can do odd jobs around the house to earn money, but there are only so many of those. Lately, he's been paying me to dust the house plants and sew buttons on his shirts! What's an aspiring fashion designer bursting with ideas to do? I've been digging around at the thrift store again, trying to find clothes I can take apart for the fabric. But I loved this dress too much to take it apart. Instead I got creative and “Zoey-fied” it. I made some tweaks here and there and added a belt that used to be my Mom's. Cool, huh?

“Are you sure you don't mind?” Aunt Lulu said for the third time as she stood by the door to leave.

“Mind? We love having Draper here,” Zoey said, her arms wrapped around her doggy cousin's neck.

Aunt Lulu's fourteen year-old mutt thumped his tail against the kitchen floor in agreement.

“See? Draper loves being here, too,” Zoey said.

“I know he does,” Aunt Lulu said, smiling. “And I know you and Marcus will give him lots of love while I'm away at the interior design conference.”

“Oh, you can count on that,” Marcus said. “Draper will get plenty of love—and treats.”

“Not too many treats,” Aunt Lulu warned. “He's already overweight.”

“He is not,” Zoey said. “You are the handsomest dog ever.”

Draper licked Zoey's face.

“I'll see you in a few days,” Aunt Lulu said, blowing kisses as she walked out the door.

Draper trotted over and let out a soft whine.

“Aw, he misses Aunt Lulu already,” Marcus said. “Give him a treat.”

Draper's ears pricked up at the word “treat”. Zoey wanted to follow Aunt Lulu's advice for at least a few minutes after she left, but Draper seemed so very sad. Just one treat wouldn't hurt.

“Come on, Draper. Treat!” she said, walking over to the tin of treats.

Draper moseyed over to Zoey expectantly.

“Sit,” Zoey said.

Draper stood, staring up with his brown eyes.

“Come on, Draper, sit!” she said again.

With a deep sigh and an
If I really must
look, Draper sank onto his rear haunches.

“Good boy, good sit,” Zoey crooned, giving him his treat.

“I wonder if Draper ever thinks,
Why do they make me do this just to get a treat?
” Marcus said.

“I think he just cares about getting the treat!”

“You underestimate him,” Marcus said.

“No, I don't. I just think he has his priorities straight. If I could get ice cream whenever someone said ‘sit' I would totally sit down on command! But now it's time to sit and
sew
, right Draper?”

Draper lumbered up the stairs behind Zoey and
followed her into her room. After a brief, unsuccessful search for hidden treats, he sat under the cute vintage sewing machine table Zoey's dad had bought her so she could work in her bedroom.

The week before, Zoey had seen a dress that she adored in her favorite fashion magazine,
Très Chic
. She wanted it so badly—until she saw the price. But it was
so cute!
That's when she had the idea to make it herself. With Draper's nose resting on her foot, Zoey sketched out ideas for how to copy the dress.

It was comforting to have Draper with her while she worked. He seemed to sense when she was getting frustrated, and he'd give her foot a gentle lick as if to say
Don't worry, Zoey, you'll figure it out
.

Zoey put down her pencil and ducked her head under the table to look at Draper. He lifted his nose and his tail wagged, thumping a steady beat against the carpet.

“You're such a good boy, Draper,” Zoey said.

And then she had a fabulous idea. . . .

CHLOe TaYLOR
learned to sew when she was a little girl. She loved watching her grandmother Louise turn a scrap of blue fabric into a simple-but-fabulous dress, nightgown, or even a bathing suit in an instant. It was magical! Now that she's grown up, she still loves fashion: it's like art that you can wear. This is her first middle grade series. She lives, writes, and window-shops in New York City.

NanCY ZHanG
is an illustrator and an art and fashion lover with a passion for all beautiful things. She has published her work in the art books
L'Oiseau Rouge
and
Street Impressions
and in various fashion magazines and on websites. Visit her at her blog:
www.xiaoxizhang.com
. She currently lives in Berlin, Germany.

Look for more Sew Zoey books at your favorite store!

SIMON SPOTLIGHT

Simon & Schuster, New York

SewZoeyBooks.com