First Foodie Friday!

follow the star & Sparkle Girl are not in the food business, but we enjoy food and sometimes inspired by it. Foodie Friday is going to become a semi-regular post that we'll share. We will visit coffee shops, diners and who knows what else! We are eager to find new places and share some of our favorites.
Today we ate lunch at El Tarasco on Fairfax Avenue in St. Matthews. 
SG: I like the outdoor awnings which are green, white and red. Inside the music was fantastico! I had a taco and enchilada with delicioso rice. Mom had a tamale and shared my rice. We both ate chips and salsa. If you like Mexican food, you should go here! :)
fts: Food was good plus friendly & speedy service, as always. I definitely agree - the music was particularly fun today (: We both ate lunch for less than $10 total.
finally our photo showed up! added 1/11/14

Happy Distaff Day!

dis·taff

ˈdistaf/

noun   1. a stick or spindle onto which wool or flax is wound for spinning.

YOUNG GIRL WITH A DISTAFF - JOSEPH BOUVIER (distaff is the cottony candy like item she's holding high - wool waiting to be spun)

1. 
   

Greetings fiber fiends and friends!
Today marks the end of Christmas festivities (for those of you unawares, Twelfth Night was yesterday which is the last of all merrymaking). Today spinner maids return to their work, idle hands being a danger to us all, of course. Also sometimes called "Rock Day" from rocken - German for distaff. But watch yeselves, ladies, the ploughmen have until Monday before the must resume work and will be attempting pranks to taunt and tease.

Incidentally, spindle spinning was so intensely a woman's job that in many places (at least in the 14/15/1600s) the word distaff could also mean woman/women. I have read, but can find no notation, that in some places the term "distaff line" is still a legal title for a female or matriarchal line in a family.

My information has been gathered over time from books and such, but here is an informative essay from the UK you may enjoy.

Now to celebrate by getting back to my spindle! 

SIFAF2013

This weekend marks the 9th annual Southern Indiana FiberArts Festival in historic and autumnally lovely Corydon, Indiana. Some of you may also know that my sweet girlie is 9 years old. She doesn't know an October without SIFAF. We take our fall break the week of fest (to work like crazy chicks) and the week following (to rest and goof off). It is part of our natural rhythm of life for us. I am looking forward to sharing another fest weekend with her (she who has grown SO much since we started). I am excited about seeing friends and welcoming myriad smiling faces to our fiber filled event. For quite a long time I have been enthusiastic about next year's 10th event - but that doesn't diminish my anticipation of every waking second of the 9th. Nine is nice (:

If you join us in Corydon this weekend I hope you say "hi!"

Yarn Party!

This is the thought I've been mulling over for so long - should have done it 5 times by now! My girlie and I hosted 5 friends to learn about making yarn and then some things to do with yarn.
I wish I had 347 more photos to share, but we were having so much fun I kept having to remind myself we wanted photos, too!

images of finger knitting. I do have more to share, but blogger won't recognize them as photos, argh! So I guess you'll have to come back (:
We discussed fiber types, haircuts and combing, um, I mean carding. Gave the drum carder a turn then watched a spindle spin before everyone got to give their own a whirl!
After a break we sat with some commercial yarn to give finger crochet a try outside. The 'skeeters ran us back indoors to finger knit. Girlies aged 4-9 tried everything! Some took a special like to certain activities, but everyone tried!! I'd also like to point out this group of girlies were SO helpful. Not just the older helping the young, but when someone caught on they were giddy about showing someone else.
I had a fantastic afternoon with the 6 charming new fiber enthusiasts (:

(more photos when I get the issue figured out /: )

ok, i must tell!

I am hosting a Yarn Party for 6 girlies tomorrow (almost today, better get to bed!)
I've been thinking about it for a long time and a lot this summer - but this summer has been full of bad timing (;
Can't wait to share photos and stories!!

small but huge

I had a small idea. Today I am more excited about that small idea than I can even put into words. You won't have to wait too long for the post, but you will have to wait (:

in the meantime, here's a giggle

The adventure continues ...

To say that life here is back to normal would be a lie. But we are becoming well acquainted with the new normal. For those unaware, we moved house across the river so now Louisville is home again - well "again" for honey and myself, but totally new for the girlie. People, well meaning fantastic people, ask such strange questions but to address several: Life isn't better or worse or even different in some ways. We are blessed.

That said, a lot of things took longer than we thought and settling in has been slower than I anticipated (not for real reasons, but I make up many when I can't sleep). Girlie and I have been planning cool, fun and new things for our respective businesses. We appreciate the patience and support of family, friends and even you few fans out there (:

Soon Sparkle Girl Studio and follow the star studio will have items online in our etsy shops - some new, some favored familiars. We love to hear what you think about what we do so don't hold back! Also we have some fun ideas in store for Southern Indiana FiberArts Festival in October.

See you soon!