Sewing in Circles by Chloe Taylor

heavy, so I can’t hang too many pieces on each line. And if I have too many clotheslines in the booth, it’s going to look messy instead of cute.”
    â€œWait! I think I’ve just had a brainstorm for what to do with those,” Marcus said. “Do we have any ladders at home?”
    â€œYeah,” Dad said. “I’ve got one or two old ones hanging around in the garage. They aren’t in great shape, though.”
    â€œThat’s okay,” Marcus said. “Just bring them when you come back with the zip ties.”
    â€œWhat do you want ladders for?” Zoey asked.
    â€œWait and see,” Marcus said, which was annoyingly mysterious, but Zoey didn’t mind as long as his idea worked!
    When Dad came back from his errand, he asked Marcus for help. They returned carrying two old wooden ladders.
    â€œI’ve been meaning to get rid of these ever since I bought the aluminum ladder, but luckily for you, they were still in the garage,” Dad said.
    â€œThey’re perfect!” Marcus exclaimed.
    â€œPerfect for what?” Zoey asked.
    â€œWatch and learn,” Marcus said. He propped open the two ladders, then took one of the clothing rods and rested it across the ladders’ steps. “Ta-da!” he said, picking up another one and resting it on a lower step. “Your clothing rack!”
    â€œWow! That’s such a great idea!” Zoey exclaimed. “It looks . . . rustic, which will tie in perfectly with the twine clothesline and wooden pegs!”
    She started hanging clothes on the rods whileDad and Marcus strung up the twine and tied the clothing rods to the ladders to keep them stable.
    â€œGood thinking on the ladders,” Dad told Marcus.
    â€œJust being a good brother,” Marcus said, grinning.
    When Zoey finished arranging all her stuff, it turned out she didn’t even need the things she’d borrowed from Allie and the other vendors, so she went around and returned them. Between Marcus and Aunt Lulu, they’d solved her problem and created a cool, rustic look for her booth.
    â€œOur make-do booth looks better than how I designed it!” Zoey said.
    â€œTeamwork,” Dad said, putting his arms around Zoey and Marcus. “The Webber family makes a great team!”

CHAPTER 10
    Fashion Hardware
    Aunt Lulu often uses the phrase “necessity is the mother of invention,” but it was never more true than this afternoon, when we were setting up my booth for the gift fair! I thought we wouldn’t have enough display items to show off the things I’ve worked so hard tomake in a way that looks attractive and will make people want to buy them. But between Aunt Lulu, Dad, and especially Marcus, my day was saved! We rigged up twine and clothespins to hang up lines to display some items, and then Marcus had the brainstorm to use two old ladders as a base for the clothing rods, creating the perfect rustic-looking rack. All’s well that ends well! And I got an idea for hardware-store inspired clothing made of nuts and bolts (fabric bolts, that is). It was a win-win!

    Dad dropped Zoey off early the next day, so she could be in her booth before the gift fair opened. Zoey looked for Allie on the way over, but she didn’t seem to be in hers yet.
    The first hour was very slow. There weren’t many people at the fair, and the ones who were there didn’t seem interested in what she had to offer. It was really depressing to watch people walk straight by her booth with barely a glance.
    Zoey started to worry that the whole days was going to be a total failure and she’d end up losing money on the booth rental. That would mean lessmoney to buy fabrics for all her other ideas.
    Just as she was starting to despair, a girl walked by the booth, saw the fabric bracelets, and stopped.
    â€œWow!” she said. “You have so many more designs than they sell in the store!”
    â€œThat’s