Z Is For…

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Oh no…its the last day of the A-Z Challenge! Wow, that actually went pretty quickly didn’t it. And the best bit is…

I DID IT! 🙂

Sorry, got a little bit excited there, coz its not over yet… Its Z day…

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And my last random word is…

Zip lol

Sonia was in shock. If someone had said to her that she would reach the final of The Great British Sewing Bee this time last year, she would have thought they had escaped the local mental institute. But here she was. When her name was read out, along with Lydia’s, for a moment, she thought the presenter had got it wrong.

“Congratulations ladies! Go back to the hotel, get some rest, and we’ll see you tomorrow.” The presenter turned to the camera as the 2 finalists exited to a waiting car. Lydia spent the whole journey with a smug expression, talking about how Sally, the semi finalist who had just been knocked out, deserved to go home with that dire children’s creation she had “knocked up” from an old adults T Shirt.
“I mean, honestly Sonia, did you see those seams?”

Sonia just smiled and watched landmarks whizz by as the car weaved them through the busy London Streets. She hadn’t anticipated the bitchyness she
would encounter during the competition.

The following morning they were driven to the old warehouse where the programme was being filmed and on camera the presenters told them what their last challenge would be. Their work today would determine who would be crowned the winner.
“Today ladies, we would like you to create a dress, an evening dress. You can use any of the fabrics we have available and of course, we want to see imagination and perfect seams. You have 6 hours. Let’s sew!”

Sonia sat down at her “station” and scribbled in her notebook. She had always been in awe of the dress worn by Jessica Rabbit in the Roger Rabbit film since she had been a child. Could she recreate it in 6 hours? She started to draw the dress from memory.

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Howard DeVore @ Pinterest

Grabbing some crushed red velvet from the fabric supply she glanced over at Lydia who was already sewing and realised that she really needed to create something special if she had any chance of beating Lydia and wiping that smug grin off her face.

“You’ve had 2 hours ladies, that’s 4 hours left. Sonia’s palms were sweaty. Had they really used 2 hours already. Her pieces were cut, but she really needed to start assembling the dress. At the 4 hour mark they would be stopping for a break and she really needed to have the dress pieces assembled by then.

It only seemed like 10 minutes before the presenter called for them to stop and led them into a room where tea and coffee had been provided.
“How are you doing?” Lydia asked.
“Ok, I think, I was probably a bit too ambitious though. I…”
“I’m going to nail it!” Lydia interrupted. “I’m nearly finished, and it’s the best piece of work I’ve ever done.” She patted Sonia on the back. “Bad luck Darling, perhaps next time…now, where are the loo’s?”
Sonia watched Lydia leave the room. Inside she was seething, but she knew she had to keep calm. Obviously Lydia was going to win, but she would still do her best.

Back in the sewing room the clock was reset and Sonia started to assemble her dress. They were half an hour away from the finish as she dressed her mannequin. “What the…?” As she slid the soft velvet dress up the torso she noticed a huge slash in the back. She looked over at Lydia who smiled innocently. I didn’t put that slash there…oh my god, she’s sabotaged my dress! Panic set in as Sonia realised she didn’t have time to repair it. Should she tell the presenters what Lydia had done and stop the competition? Who would believe her?

“Thats it ladies, times up!”

Sonia wanted to cry. She looked over at Lydia’s bias cut satin evening dress. It looked like it had come straight from the pages of Vogue.

The presenters walked around each dress. Examined seams and darts. They paused for what seemed like ages at the back of Sonia’s.

“Ok ladies, thank you so much. Both dresses are beautiful.”

Sonia gulped and looked over at Lydia who was grinning.

“But we’ve decided, the winner is, it was so close on quality, but for innovation and creativity….”

Sonia held her breath. She daren’t even think that it would be her name, not after what Lydia had done.

“Sonia! Congratulations Sonia, we loved the slash in the back.”

 

 

Ok, well that was a bit long, but I was determined to finish it on here rather than let it dangle 😉

And that’s it! My 3rd A-Z is over…I need a couple of days to lie down now and then I’ll be back with my review post. In the meantime, thank you, everyone who has stopped by and left a comment, or liked a post. It really means a lot. I have terrible confidence issues with my writing, so to hear you’ve enjoyed what I’ve written means the world 🙂 xx

62 thoughts on “Z Is For…”

  1. Congratulations hun, you did it!!!! Have loved reading all of your posts this month; especially those with the unexpected twists. Fantastic job, stick at it! 🙂 xxx

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  12. Great way to finish. Cheaters never win. Those who work always prevail somehow. Congrats on finishing the challenge and putting yourself out there.

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  17. Well done! And it was a lovely story and meaningful for me. I hate unfair things, and I’m so happy Sonia won! That’s just right to make my day, even if it happened in fiction!
    Let’s keep in touch!
    And stop having confidence issue, I believe that only a few people would manage to accomplish what you’ve done during the past month! 😀

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  18. Well done Vicky. You certainly went out with a ZIP BANG! A good story with a satisfying ending. But don’t leave it there, cash in on your new found confidence and loyal band of fans. 26 great little stories, now give us one big super novel. 26 chapters is nothing to you. Go girl!
    love Sue X

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  22. Hi there – Great job on the A – Z challenge. I enjoyed it also, but am now glad it’s over. This was my first year; next year, am planning on adding a theme. Take care! 🙂

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    • Thanks Diane, and well done you for signing up 🙂

      It’s great fun, but definitely exhausting. If you go for a theme next year, do some scheduled posts. The last 2 years I was able to do that, but this year, because I did it “live” I couldn’t schedule. And THAT was pretty stressful lol

      Xx

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  27. This was bittersweet for me – just watched Roger Rabbit over Easter break, one of my fave movies, and then we lost Bob Hoskins, who was brilliant. Great idea for a story, and congrats on finishing A to Z!

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    • Thanks Li 🙂

      I hadn’t heard about Bob Hoskins until I saw your comment, then went on FaceBook (the font of all knowledge) to see everyone posting about it. Such a shame 😦

      Xx

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  29. That big I DID IT 🙂 says it all!
    I’m so glad you finished the story and the challenge as I always enjoy your tightly focused plot lines and the twists. Seriously, you have solid writing chops!
    This challenge was fun, but exhausting. Will need coffee … 😉

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    • Do you know what Liz, i was thinking the same thing as i was writing it, and my original idea was to have Sonia being the one who turned into the “slasher” but i thought no, i need to end this challenge on a positive note lol

      Thanks honey xx

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