Stitches and Stones (13 page)

“Uh-huh. It wasn't for very long, only a few years. And they never had kids, obviously.”

Zoey got up from the bed and stretched.

“The point is, she got divorced, but she's okay. And no matter what happens, you'll be okay.”

Priti heaved a big shuddering sigh.

“I know you're right, but I can't seem to stop worrying about all the what-ifs? It's like my brain has short-circuited and it's stuck on worry mode.”

“It's not the same, I know, but sometimes when I get superanxious about a big sewing project, it helps me to think about one stitch at a time instead of looking at the whole project and feeling, like,
Help, I'll never be able to do this!
” Zoey said. “So . . . maybe you can just try to think about one day at a time and not worry so much about what might happen—or might not happen? I know it's easier to say and harder to do, but . . .”

“I'll try,” Priti said. “Anything has got to be better than being stuck in worry mode.”

Zoey had an idea. “I've got the perfect thing to get you unstuck. Come on, let's go downstairs!”

In the kitchen, she got out two bowls, some ice cream, chocolate syrup, and whipped cream.

“Ice-cream-sundae time!” she said. “And then we can watch the latest episode of
Fashion Showdown
. It's on the DVR.”

As they settled onto the sofa with their sundaes, Priti smiled a happier, more genuine smile than Zoey had seen on her face all day.

“I feel better already,” she said. “Thanks, Zo. For listening. And the sundae. And everything.”

“No problem,” Zoey said. “That's what BFFs are for.”

One Stitch at a Time

I'm so glad I decided to stick with Sew Zoey, because you (other than the nasty commenters who will not be mentioned from now on) have been so amazing and supportive. I want to give a special shout-out and SUPERBIG thank-you to Fashionsista for the beautiful
“stick with it” bracelet. I wore it for the
Très Chic
photo shoot, and it reminded me not to let my worry about how people might think or react get in the way of enjoying the fun things that were happening—like being star for a day and being followed around at school by a writer and photographer and makeup artist! I can't wait to see how it turns out.

I'm trying to remember that sometimes when a problem seems too big, it helps to look at it in smaller pieces. Like when you're working on a sewing project and you think you'll never be able to finish it, just think about doing one stitch at a time, and before you know it, the project is a quarter done, then half done, then three-quarters done, and then one day, the thing you thought you'd never be able to complete is
done
, and it looks amazing! This idea inspired the sketches for today's blog.

I'm going to work on taking things one day at a time—one stitch at a time—instead of letting everything and everyone get me down. Things are looking brighter already!

Zoey was happy to see Priti a bit more like her usual self after their talk. At Zoey's suggestion, she ended up confiding in Libby and Kate about the problems at home too, so they all could give her extra TLC when she needed it.

“My parents said they don't
want
to get divorced,” Priti told them at lunch. “So I'm hoping everything is going to be okay, and I'm just taking it one stitch at a time, like Zoey says.”

“Can I have one of your fries at a time?” Kate asked.

“Me too!” Zoey said. “They smell amazing!”

Priti laughed and passed her fries around for her friends to share.

Early the following week, Zoey got an e-mail from the editor at
Très Chic
telling her the online feature, “A Day in the Life: Ten Teen Designers to Watch” was live on the magazine's website. Hardly able to click on the link because of her excitement, Zoey scrolled through the slideshow of the other designers, reading about how they spent their days at school, their design work, and their dreams for the
future. Allie looked great in her photos, and it was fun to see the pictures of her with Jan at A Stitch in Time. Allie even mentioned in her interview that Zoey shopped there too! Zoey sent her an e-mail, thanking her and reminding her they should do a “Fashion from A to Z” Etsy store together.

Her own spread was awesome. There was a picture of her and Ms. Austen standing by Zoey's locker, with a crowd of students milling around, trying to look like nothing special was happening. If Zoey looked really carefully, she could see Ivy, Shannon, and Bree in the corner of the frame, but their faces were blurry, because the focus was on Zoey. She wondered if Ivy would be happy she was in the picture or mad because she was blurry. Whatever. Zoey wasn't going to let it bother her.

Zoey's favorite picture was of all the girls hugging Marie Antoinette. She was glad the editor did use the “fun shot,” and she decided to write to the photographer and ask for copies for her friends. She had a great idea for decorating cute picture frames to put them in!

The best part of all, Zoey thought, was that she
was in such great company and that a magazine like
Très Chic
considered her a
real designer
. When she went to school the next day, she felt like she didn't need the “sticks and stones” bracelet to remind her not to let Ivy get her down—but she wore it anyway, because she liked it so much.

People kept coming up to her in the hall and saying things like, “Hey, I saw you on the
Très Chic
website!” and “Cool feature in
Très Chic
!” Even Lorenzo had seen it, and Zoey was pretty sure that fashion magazines weren't his usual reading fare.

“My mom reads
Très Chic
. She showed me the pictures of you guys,” he said when she walked into English. “Totally awesome!”

“Really? Thanks!” Zoey said, hoping she wasn't starting to blush the way she always seemed to when Lorenzo spoke to her.

If looks could kill, the one Ivy gave her just then would have done Zoey some serious damage.

“Did you see me in the picture?” Ivy asked Lorenzo.

“Uh, no,” Lorenzo said. “Were you in it?”

Zoey sat in her chair before Ivy could give her
another death glare. If it was really Ivy behind the nasty comments, she had a feeling she'd be in for more tonight when she got home.

“That was a really cool feature about you,” Gabe said, swiveling around in his chair to smile at her.

“
You
read
Très Chic
?” Zoey asked, amazed.

“Well, not
usually
.” Gabe smiled again. “I'm normally more a
Sports Illustrated
or
Scientific American
kind of guy. But when one of your friends is one of Ten Teen Designers to Watch, a guy has to make sacrifices.”

“Thanks for your sacrifice,” Zoey said. “I hope it wasn't too painful.”

“It was actually pretty cool. I never knew you had a headless dummy called Marie Antoinette. Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night and think that you're in the middle of a zombie apocalypse when you see her shadow?”

Zoey laughed.

“She's a dress form, not a dummy, and no. Marie Antoinette is
waaaaay
too well dressed to be a zombie.”

“Who says zombies can't be well dressed? If the apocalypse hit the fashion district, there could totally be well-dressed zombies.”

“You think about the strangest things,” Zoey said. “Funny, but strange.”

Still, for the rest of class, she was sketching zombie fashions in the margins of her notebook. She showed them to Gabe at the end of the period.

“See!” he said, grinning. “I knew you'd get it!”

“Thanks for the idea,” Zoey said. “I can use it for a
Z
design when Allie and I do our ‘Fashion from A to Z' project.”

“Who'd have thought you'd be getting fashion ideas from Gabe Monaco?” Priti said when Zoey showed them the zombie fashion sketches at lunch. “I mean, it's not like he's a bad dresser, but . . .”

“I get my ideas everywhere,” Zoey said. “That's the exciting thing about them. I never know where I'm going to find the next one.”

“I know! Remember when you got the idea for that cool dress at the Eastern State Game?” Kate
said. “I was too busy watching them play to think about anything else.”

Zoey definitely remembered that dress. The day she wore it to school was the first time Lorenzo paid attention to her.

“Have you checked the traffic on your blog lately?” Libby said. “I mean, if
Gabe and Lorenzo
are reading the
Très Chic
thing, I bet Sew Zoey must have lots of new readers.”

Zoey hadn't even thought to check last night after she got the
Très Chic
link.

“I don't know,” she said. “But now I can't wait to go home after school and check!”

Sure enough, Sew Zoey was showing major traffic. There were a bunch of comments from names Zoey didn't recognize, telling her they'd found out about her blog from reading about her in
Très Chic
and complimenting her on her designs. She scanned down the comments—there were more than a hundred! Many were from her regular readers, saying how awesome it was that more people were discovering Sew Zoey.

Then Zoey saw something she couldn't believe. She rubbed her eyes and blinked a few times to make sure she was seeing properly. Because there, on her blog, was a comment from DaphneShawNY, the designer who Zoey looked up to as one of her biggest inspirations!

Hi, Zoey! I'm a big fan of your blog—usually a lurker, but I read the posts and the comments. I'm sorry you've had to deal with such unpleasantness recently. Every creative person has to learn to deal with critics because every art form is subjective. But when you're in the public eye, some of them can be pretty nasty, and sometimes, it's because they're jealous of your talent and your success. You have to learn to develop a thick skin, hold your head up high, and be proud of your fabulous self. Remember that saying about how “sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me”? Well, words DO hurt sometimes. Even so, try not to let them get to you. You're a star. Keep up the great work!