Stitches and Stones by Chloe Taylor Read Free Book Online Page A

Fashion Showdown ?
    She was almost more excited to know there were so many other kids who were interested in designing and sewing. Not everyone on the list had a blog, but a few of them did, including Allie Lovallo. She checked out Allie’s blog, and her handbag, headband, and jewelry designs were really cute. When she read the About Me section, she saw that Allie lived not too far from Zoey. I wonder if Allie ever has to deal with mean comments on her blog? Zoey thought. Just thinking about it made her feel less alone.
    Zoey wrote a quick reply to say she had to ask her dad first, but that if he agreed, it would be her dream come true to be in the feature. The editor wrote back straightaway with the parent and school release forms and asked Zoey to return them assoon as possible if she was interested in being a part of the feature.
    Was she interested? Definitely! Zoey printed out the e-mail and permission form and headed downstairs to find her dad. He was in the living room watching a football game and making a grocery list at the same time.
    â€œHey, Dad! Guess what! Très Chic wants to do a feature on me for their online edition!” Zoey said, handing him the e-mail from the editor.
    Mr. Webber read it and smiled up at his daughter. “Wow, fame just keeps on knocking at your door, eh, Zoey?”
    Zoey thought about the mean comments on her blog. Fame wasn’t the only thing that was knocking on her door.
    â€œI guess so,” she said. “Anyway, they need your permission.”
    Zoey gave her dad the permission forms.
    â€œIf you are up for it, I’m up for it!”
    Normally, Zoey wouldn’t have hesitated, but she did wonder for a second if being in the feature would make more people discover Sew Zoey andwrite awful things about it. But only for a second. Then she decided that whatever happened, this would be worth it. There was no way she was going to let some stupid comments stop her from doing something she really loved. No way.
    â€œDefinitely!”
    â€œOkey-dokey! I’ll sign, scan, and e-mail it back to them tonight before I go to bed,” her dad said. “You know, things are going to be busy for a while with the championship games coming up . . . so this is perfect timing. I’m so proud of you, Zoey.”
    â€œThanks, Dad.” Zoey hugged her father before going back up to her room, taking the stairs two at a time, filled with a new energy.
    She spread the sparkly, sequined material out on her worktable. It caught the light and shimmered with possibility as it settled on the flat surface. How could she best use it to make accessories for the four friends?
    Zoey measured the material carefully to see how much of it she had. Then she got out her sketchbook, flopped onto her bed, and started playing with ideas, trying to figure out how many thingsshe’d be able to make with the length of fabric.
    When she was satisfied, she went to the closet and moved her own clothes aside to get to the section where she kept her mother’s designs. Tomorrow was Decades Day, and Zoey was going to wear one of her mother’s dresses for her nineties outfit. She hung the dress on the outside of her closet door and wondered what her mom would say about the comments on her blog, how she would tell Zoey to deal with them.
    It’s not like she could ever know. She could only imagine.
    Zoey wasn’t one to mope for long. She knew she would always have her dad, Marcus, Aunt Lulu, and her friends to back her up if she ever really needed it. She also had all the online friends and supporters she’d made through Sew Zoey. And she had a blog post to write for them before she went to bed!

- - - -   CHAPTER 5   - - - -  
    Time Travel . . . Fashion Style!
    It’s Decades Day and between us, my friends and I are spanning the last four decades of the twentieth century. Libby’s going to be a sixties flower child;