Journal Writing Wednesday: 14 pages

Tags

as it happens, cbc, chase the ace, de atramentis, king philip purple demonstrator, maximillian emerald demonstrator, noodler's

What I’m currently using: the Paperblanks Blue Filigree journal, the Seven Seas Writer, and the Franklin Christoph Notebook.

Total pages written since this post (Mar 9): 14

Total pages to date since project inception (Dec 11/13): 1573

Total pages written in 2016: 130

So…I’m not using the ONLINE fountain pen in the white checkerboard pattern like I’m supposed to. I just don’t like writing with it. Maybe it’s too light, or just a touch too slim. I tried but it’s just not working for me. It will probably end up in a giveaway 🙂 I will announce the pen for April on March 30.

Don’t miss out on my next giveaway:  the Pharaoh Notes Giveaway. It’s a notebook this time. The giveaway runs to March 26 so click on the link and leave a comment to enter!

Some points covered this week in my journals:

• I’ve despaired of finding anyone to fix my Noodler’s Ink King Philip Purple Demonstrator (the section is not positioned correctly underneath the nib) so it occurred to me that I could switch out the barrel with the Maximilian Emerald Demonstrator. I love the colour of the King Philip and really wanted to try the De Atramentis Heather Violet ink in it. So I did the switch and now I have a beautiful purple and green pen – my first “frankenpen”! I’ll share a picture and give a review soon.
• I heard a lovely story on CBC radio about two lottery winners from the island where I grew up, Cape Breton, in Nova Scotia. That island has been gripped by “Chase the Ace” madness of late and recently a jackpot of $230 thousand or so was awarded. On the night of the big cheque presentation, two winners showed up. After verification and embarrassment and confirming phone calls, the lottery commission asked the two women to split the prize. They agreed but the charity organization, who was scheduled to receive the equivalent amount, decided to forego their share so both women could have their $230 thousand. The two women winners forged a bond during the tense 40 minutes or so that their fate was decided. And I thought to myself – in the big city would that shake out the same way? I wonder. Read about it here.

Happy writing everyone.

My New Pen and Ink Journal

Tags

arc notebooks, de atramentis, delta journal, ink journal, pen journal, pilot plumix, waterman

I was running out of space in my last Ink Journal so I decided to create a new one. And this time it is housed in a binder instead of an ARC Journal. Lots of room to expand!I chose a plain white binder with a clear pocket on the front. I put in some spare scrapbooking paper. I really like how it turned out.

I used the scrapbook paper as dividers inside the binder as well.

My pen list. I add to it as new pens come in, obviously, and make note when I give a pen away.

And I do the same with the ink list. I generally use my Pilot Plumix to write the lists.

A colourful index. I decided to combined the pens and inks in this section, and simply go alphabetical. So Delta pens and De Atramentis ink will be in the same section: D.

I used puffy alphabet stickers to mark each division. The index goes up to 31 so not sure what I will use the extra sections for yet.

I have quite a few empty page protectors so I’ve filled them with pen and ink “stuff”. Here are the paper booklet, serial number and sleeve from my Delta Journal.

And here I’ve put in some flattened Waterman boxes. Alot easier to store this way and I like seeing the colourful boxes.

So that’s a quick tour of my new pen and ink journal. Saying goodbye to the ARC notebook was sad but I’ve simply outgrown it. I will have to find another use for it because it is one of my favorite in the ARC range. Let me know in the comments how you keep track of your pens and inks.

Shakespeare in the Open Air

Tags

de atramentis, monteverde tiger eye, paperblanks, shakespeare on the bow, the tempest, william shakespeare

A couple of weekends ago I went to Prince’s Island Park for a performance of The Tempest by local theatre group, Shakespeare by the Bow. The group is made up of up-and-coming artists who are mentored by members of Theatre Calgary. Each performance is pay-what-you-will and is a really lovely way to spend a summer’s afternoon. I went with friends and we settled on the grass for a picnic and a show and tried to stay cool under the blazing Calgary summer sun.

In addition to blankets, fruit and water, I brought a special notebook with me, one I have mentioned on this blog a couple of times. In this post from June of 2012 I wrote of my search for the Paperblanks William Shakespeare journal and my enjoyment of that years’s production, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (they were called Shakespeare in the Park at that time).  And then in March of this year, in this post, I wrote about finding the Paperblanks Shakespeare journal at Reid’s and how in love I was with it. So it was more than fitting to bring my Shakespeare journal with me to watch this year’s performance of The Tempest.

I realize I should have taken a picture of it “in the wild” as it were but it was so hot that day I was worried my phone would melt. I paired my De Atramentis William Shakespare ink with my Tiger Eye Monteverde pen and I think the combination is just stunning. I talked about this ink in 2014 in this post.

I put this quote from my fave Shakespearean play on the first page. After that I recorded my thoughts about this year’s production of The Tempest, and I made some notes on a television show I had watched the night before discussing the play and how it was so autobiographical. I intend to put any Shakespeare-related writing in this notebook. I thought I might print out pictures of the performances I see as well. I also took a neat quiz that determines what kind of Shakespearean character you are. You can take the quiz here. I got Ophelia. Luckily I know how to swim. 😉

Monteverde Prima in Tiger Eye

Tags

de atramentis, fpgeeks forum, goulet pens, j. herbin, monteverde prima, tiger eye, vert pre, william shakespeare, zhivago

Sorry for the lateness in my posting of late; I’ve been having technical difficulties with my laptop. All seems to be working at the moment, so let’s talk about Monteverde Prima in Tiger Eye.

I have been wanting this one to complement my three other Monteverde Primas: Green Swirl, Purple Swirl and Turquoise Swirl. I started collecting these in December 2013 and I would wholeheartedly recommend them. Good writers with smooth lines, no skipping or hard starts, as long as you use the converter that comes with the pen. More on that later.

I saw an ad on FP Geeks posted by Zhivago for this beauty. The advertised price was less than half of what I would pay for a new one. He was wonderful to work with, and actually refunded some of my shipping cost because the postage was less than he had thought. It arrived within a couple of weeks and I am thrilled with it.

I have seen many different examples of the Tiger Eye finish. This is a wonderful blend of orange and brown. It has a fine nib, which is different from the two medium and 1.1 stub nibs of my other Primas.

Here’s a close-up of the nib.

I have it inked with De Atramentis William Shakespeare.

And here are all four! I think they look stunning together.

I find it interesting that the Purple has a white line, the Turquoise has white with a bit of black shading, and the green and Tiger Eye have black.

Here’s a writing sample. This fine nib is super smooth and a pleasure to write with. The line is not dramatically different from the mediums, in contrast with the 1.1 stub. The stub really stands out. According to Goulet Pens website there is a broad nib available, which I may purchase at a later date, as all of the nibs are interchangeable.

While doing this review I was having trouble getting the Green to write. I know I just said what wonderful writers they are, so bear with me. I had switched from Private Reserve Avacado (sic) to a Faber Castell cartridge in Moss Green. No matter what I did I couldn’t get the darn thing to write. So I tossed the cartridge and filled the converter with J. Herbin Vert Pre. My first time using that ink and wow what a colour. Great match for the barrel too. And the pen wrote perfectly, first try. All of my other Primas have converters in them right now too. So that’s why I think this particular model prefers a converter to a cartridge. Just my experience; yours may differ.

My Prima family! Love them all; my collection is complete. (There is another Prima available, simply called Black Swirl, but is not to my taste. I intensely dislike yellow.)

Thank you so much Zhivago, I am so very pleased with the Tiger Eye. 🙂

Purple Ink, Black Pen

Tags

amazon, aubergine, de atramentis, ebay, goulet pens, jetpens, pentel slicci multipen, pilot coleto multipen, tokyo pen shop

So as promised, here is my post on my new Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto Multipen. And my new bottle of ink arrived this week so I will talk about that too.

I have been a Coleto pen lover for some time. The earliest post tagged with “Pilot Coleto Multipen” is from Sept 2013. And the love continues because I’m still using these pens, almost every day.

The Pilot Coleto Multipens are available in a number of styles. I prefer the “standard body” which can hold 3, 4 or 5 ink refills. For a really great explanation of the different body types available watch The Tokyo Pen Shop’s excellent video here. The bodies and refills are available at Tokyo Pen Shop, Amazon, JetPens and ebay. There may be others but ebay is still the cheapest option for me. I buy from a seller in Japan and I look forward to her beautiful packaging almost as much as I do the pens and refills.

The 5-barrel Coletos are available in 5 colours: Silver, Pink, Black, Blue and White. I have 3 so far: Silver, Black and Blue. I do plan on adding the Pink and White when the budget allows. With shipping and exchange the cost of each 5-barrel with 5 refills is around $20.

There are 17 refills available, in a range of colours and tip sizes. Two of the refills include a mechanical pencil and a stylus. The tip sizes come in 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5. I find the 0.3 very scratchy, but the 0.4 and 0.5 are just right. My 5-barrel Coletos all have the 0.5 tip size refills. Each refill shows the tip size on the side of the coloured fin at the top of the pen.

The writing experience with these pens is wonderful. They are very smooth writers and the ink is very bright.

I selected the ink colours for this new black Coleto to match the colours I use in my World Mail Panel notebook. Previously I had been using 2 Slicci pens, because they are only available in a 3-barrel version, and I use 5 colours in that particular notebook. You can see in the photo below how bright the Coleto inks are compared to the Slicci inks (the top two entries were written with Slicci pens; the next two with the black Coleto).

I have watched a number of YouTube videos and read many reviews where people complain about the life of the refills, that they run out very quickly. I have not found that to be the case with mine. I do not use them at work, nor do I use them to journal. But I do use them for my planner and my World Mail Panel notebook as I mentioned. I have not had to replace a refill yet. I highly recommend these pens if you are looking for a multipen with lots of options.

And now on to my new bottle of ink. I loved the Mystery Ink game on FP Geeks so much I had to buy a bottle once the name was revealed. So I hopped on to the Goulet site and ordered a bottle of De Atramentis Aubergine. If you want a more detailed ink review see the Mystery Ink link above.

It arrived as always floating in a sea of bubble wrap, and I enjoyed the wee tootsie pop as my afternoon snack. Then I added the new member of the family to my ink journal, complete with purple swab.

So there you have it folks, a couple of my recent purchases. They won’t be the last! 🙂

Journal Writing Wednesday: 14 pages

Tags

de atramentis, goulet pens, monteverde prima, nanami paper, phasha, pilot coleto multipen, tomoe river, waterman

What I’m currently using: the Paperblanks Blue Filigree journal, Winnable Leather Journal, Winnable Executive Journal and the Believe In Yourself journal

Total pages written since last JWW post (Apr 15): 14

Total pages to date since project inception (Dec 11/13): 921

Total pages written in 2015: 181

Monthly Pen: Monteverde Prima in Purple Swirl

Next monthly pen will be announced on April 29

Purchases:

My new Coleto arrived this week and I will review it this Sunday. I am still waiting on another ebay pen, as well as the Goulet ink mentioned last week. And today I ordered a bunch of stuff from Nanami Paper; they finally have their Tomoe River paper notebooks back in stock. Stay tuned.

Some points covered this week in my journals:

• I am still using my Purple Prima and the miracle I hoped for has happened: I’m in love with it again. I’m taking it to work everyday and using it as much as possible. I’ve run through the MI6 (De Atramentis Aubergine) ink and now I’m onto Waterman Purple. I used it to write a thank-you note for a co-worker and he admired my handwriting and the beautiful ink colour. 🙂
• I’m getting over a cold (again) and the recovery for my leg is taking forever. With colds comes coughing and sneezing, and it feels like for each cough/sneeze I’ve earned a week of excruciating leg pain. I’m waking up in the middle of the night again, but it’s not so bad that I have to actually get up, which is a plus. One day at a time.
• I spent a few hours working on my Letter Journal; I’m slowly filling up the Phasha journal and I love the look of it! I wrote in my journal how happy it makes me to revisit old letters.

Until next week, happy writing!

Journal Writing Wednesday: 5 pages

Tags

alan bradley, as chimney sweepers come to dust, aubergine, de atramentis, j. huie, mystery ink, national siblings day

What I’m currently using: the Paperblanks Blue Filigree journal, Winnable Leather Journal, Winnable Executive Journal and the Believe In Yourself journal

Total pages written since last JWW post (Apr 8): 5

Total pages to date since project inception (Dec 11/13): 907

Total pages written in 2015: 167

Monthly Pen: Monteverde Prima in Purple Swirl

Next monthly pen will be announced on April 29

Purchases:

I made a second pen purchase on ebay this past week; this one is coming from Japan. And just today I ordered a bottle of ink from Goulet; the Mystery Ink #6 was revealed to be De Atramentis Aubergine, so I ordered myself a bottle because my pens loved it so much. I will share everything when they arrive.

Some points covered this week in my journals:

• I haven’t written as much this week as I’ve had my nose in a library book that I’ve been waiting a while for: As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley. I’ve been a big fan of Flavia de Luce over the years and in this book she’s in Toronto at a Canadian finishing school for girls. Fun stuff.
• My sister and I celebrated National Siblings Day (unbeknownst to us) by spending Saturday together with tea and notebooks and pens. There’s nothing quite like geeking out with my sister. Love ya!!
• I wrote out some inspirational quotes and this one is my favorite: “Forgive others, not because they deserve forgiveness, but because you deserve peace. – J. Huie”. Something to think about. Hard to do, but worth it.

Until next week, happy writing!

Treasures from the Island

Tags

andy everson, de atramentis, fountain pen, leather pen case, pen holder, qualicum stationers, vancouver island, william shakespeare, zebra

A couple of weeks ago we were on holiday on Vancouver Island. I wrote, read and sipped tea. And shopped just a little bit. 🙂

I bought two pens, a pen case and a journal. Let’s take a look at the journal first.

This is the Spring Finale Journal by Andy Everson. Andy is a First Nation’s Artist and you can learn more about him and his breathtaking art on his webpage. I actually found this journal on my last day, at the airport gift shop. Couldn’t pass it up at $15. Such beautiful artwork and the journal is well made too.

It’s a spiral journal but the spirals are protected by the binding. The dragonfly motif is repeated on the inside covers.

Lined pages. Paper is a medium weight and very creamy feeling.

Details about the artist on the inside back cover. I love his work and these journals are an affordable way of having some of his art to look at. I mean I could frame the cover it’s so beautiful. Here’s an inspiring quote from the description of this journal on Andy’s webpage:

 ‘Spring’s Finale’ represents a brief moment in time in which the dragonfly has stopped from its regular activity to rest on a cattail in a swamp. It also represents the crescendo of beauty that is the end of spring. Colours vivid with life have lived on rain and are now rejoicing in the ever-warming sun. ‘Spring’s Finale’ is but a moment in time that encourages you to reflect on the past and prepare for the future.

To purchase this and other Andy Everson journals, check out this link.

Next up, a wooden fountain pen.

I don’t have a lot of information about this pen. We went to Qualicum Stationers in Qualicum Beach. They had a huge art supply section and framing section, and a small stationery supply section. In their display cabinet at the cash they had some of these wooden fountain pens for $25 each. I was told they are made by a woodworker in Victoria. The barrel and cap are wood, with gold coloured accents.

The section is plastic I think, and the medium nib is gold coloured steel.

The nib had some false starts and skipped when I started to write, which you can see in the writing sample above a little bit. But it disappeared the longer I wrote. It was like it needed to warm up. It came with a standard international size cartridge but I wanted to see what De Atramentis William Shakespeare would look like in it and I really like it. It matches the barrel beautifully, which I like to do. Maybe with more use the nib will even itself out.

I also picked up this Zebra V-301 Fountain Pen, which I’ve never seen before. The package came with two refill cartridges as well. The pen does not take standard international cartridges but I can always fill them with a needle when they run out.

Very smooth writer, no hesitations or blobs. No leaks. Very comfortable in the hand. One thing I REALLY like is that it snaps to cap but also snaps to post! As a post-er myself I love a secure post on a fountain pen. 🙂

And lastly this blue pen case.

I spied the pen case right away in the display case, as I’ve been looking at them online for a long time. Real leather ones start at around $50 which is reasonable when you consider the amount of work that goes into making one. I couldn’t believe it when the salesperson said the price was $14.95. We actually went to this stationery store twice because on our first visit I bought one pen case. I thought about it overnight and took my husband’s advice and went back the next day to buy two more cases. And the interesting thing is, they came from the same fellow who made the fountain pens; his wife is a leather crafter. How cool is that?

I can fit both pens in comfortably; there is a leather strip down the middle that protects one pen from the other. Unbelievable deal. And such a great colour.

So that’s it for my holiday treasures and the memories they bring back. Can’t wait to use them all!

Leaf Binder and Alphabet Notebook

Tags

de atramentis, ebay, fringe paper goods, lamy safari, suzi q beadworks, william shakespeare

I wanted to share a couple of notebooks I picked up recently.

I bought this leaf journal on ebay from a seller called Fairmer. He/she has a large selection of journals and alot of them are ring binders, which is interesting for scrapbooking or adding punched ephemera to your journal.

The cover feels like a thick and flexible vinyl, very smooth. I really enjoy the leaf pattern which is engraved on the cover, and the leaf charm on the leather tie is a lovely touch.

The inside is a soft brown suede-like material. I thought I might take this journal with me on my recent holiday so I put the “travel notes” sticker on the first page. The journal comes packed with the unlined brown paper shown, and there was so much paper I could barely turn the pages. I had to take some out to start writing.

I wouldn’t call myself a list maker, except for when I’m travelling. Things to take with me come to mind at the oddest time so a book like this comes in handy to list everything. And I used my Lamy Safari with De Atramentis William Shakespeare ink to write the list. You can see the paper takes fountain pen ink beautifully.

Then I was in Suzie Q Beadworks and picked up this Antique Alphabet Notebook by Fringe Paper Goods.

The inside is lined and has a place for the date in the upper right corner of each page.

I haven’t done an ink test for this one but will do so when I start to use it regularly.

The back cover has a folder to stick loose papers or stickers.

And the back cover. I really enjoy Fringe Paper Goods; they have such a vintage feel and the quality is great.

A Beautiful Birthday Treat

Tags

akkerman, de atramentis, dip pen, heather violet, inkwell, koninginne nach-blauw, lougheed house, nostalgic impressions, pen stand

I spent the day with my lovely sister and she treated me to a birthday brunch. She has truly spoiled me of late (see A Souvenir of Iceland and an Inkwell) and today was a continuation. My life is truly blessed and I am extremely grateful.

So in addition to a scrumptious brunch at Lougheed House she gave me an amazing present. First I will show you the beautiful box.

And inside was a beautiful dip pen with stand and glass inkwell.

Isn’t it gorgeous?! I am in love. It’s from Nostalgic Impressions (www.nostalgicimpressions.com) and my sister bought it at a Renaissance Fair. Looks like my dip pen collection is growing! See A Dip Pen From Italy and Wooden Calligraphy Pen. This set comes with two nibs, both of which seem to me to be extra fine. And they appear to be two different metals but not sure what. One is silver-coloured and one is gold-coloured.

The silver one says Leonard 300 England and the gold one says Leonard IIIEF England.

Here is a closeup of the inkwell and the detail on the base of the stand. I guess for certain ink bottles this could be a good decanting vessel when the ink level goes below what the pen can access. But I use a needle to fill my pens so I doubt I will ever use this inkwell in that way.

I inked up the silver nib with Akkerman Koninginne Nach-Blauw and did an ink test. It’s extremely scratchy and produced a very fine line. As with the other dip pens I’ve tried I felt like I could snap the nib at any moment. With practice I’m sure I will get used to it.

At the end of “Akkerman” I felt the ink was running out so I re-dipped.

Then I put the gold nib in and dipped it in De Atramentis Heather Violet.

Truthfully I didn’t see that much difference in the results. The gold nib was ever so slightly less scratchy than the silver. Both produced super fine lines. I did not feel I had to re-dip this time.

If you are wondering the nibs slide easily into the body of the pen. There is a claw-like mechanism inside that grabs the nib and holds it firmly.

Sorry for the blurriness but I tried to get a closeup of the nib holding mechanism and this was the best of the bunch.

I think this will be the home of the ink stand, at least for now. I have the glass inkwell on my desk and I don’t really have the room at the moment. I pile things for a few weeks while I’m working on them and when I can’t stand it any more I clear the desk of all but the essentials. Even with just the essentials I don’t think this ink stand would be showcased like it should be. Not to mention it would be irresistible to the cats, either to knaw on the end of the pen or knock the ink well over. I think it looks striking against the mostly cream background of the tower of boxes so it will live here for the moment. I’m sure the cats could jump up here but I think it would involve too much effort. I’m hoping anyway!

Thank you again to the greatest sister in the world (gush gush I know) who knows me so well. I treasure these items but more importantly I treasure you. 🙂