Summer is nearly over, and the weather has really taken a turn here in the UK. I feel like we get to this time of year and the weather just goes ‘nope, Summer is over’, and that’s it. I personally don’t mind the cooler temperatures, I’d just prefer not to get completely soaked on my ten minute walk to work.
On the whole though, August has been quite a relaxed month compared to June and July, and I’ve been enjoying a slower pace. I’ve managed to make more time for writing, cross stitching, commonplacing and you may also notice I gave the blog a little refresh, with a new design.
In terms of my monthly stationery favourites, let’s start with the pens:
Fountain Pens
I got two new fountain pens at the start of August, and so I’ve been using them a lot.
The first one is the popular TWSBI Eco Pink Lemonade – I’m so glad TWSBI finally listened to everyone’s cries for a pink TWSBI! Like a lot of people I’m slightly baffled as to why they didn’t use a rose gold trim, but the bronze still looks nice, and it’s a very pretty pen.
This pen was also extra exciting for me, as it was my first TWSBI stub nib, and it writes like a dream, just giving my handwriting a subtle flair. I have it inked up with Diamine Coral, which isn’t a great match for this pen, but I seem to have a lot of other pens inked with pink at the minute, so I wanted something a little different. And this ink looks really stunning in the stub nib!
The other new pen I got was the Kaweco Perkeo Iridescent Pearl. I missed out on the iridescent pearl Kaweco Sport back in the day, so I was glad to get this pen. I haven’t used my other Perkeo in a while, so I’d forgotten how nice they are to write with. I have it inked up with Sailor Shikiori Yozakura, and I’m enjoying the combination.
Notebooks
I got a new notebook this month, and it has single handedly managed to make me obsessed with commonplacing all over again. I got two of the Midori Commonplace books, and they are just such handy little notebooks!
I’ll do a full review sometime, but because they are specially made to be commonplace books they have several features that really help, mainly a little bookmark that you can add your key to, so you don’t keep having to flip to the front of the book.
The grid is extremely small, so I have ended up writing over two lines, but I haven’t found that to be too much of a problem. I’ve filled up a good half of the first notebook already, so I’m glad I have another one waiting in the wings.
I’ve included a picture below of an example of how I’ve been using it:
Personal Curriculum
My August personal curriculum went fairly well, aside from the fact I didn’t even start my research project on commonplacing – I was too busy actually doing the commonplacing, so I don’t think that’s a bad thing!
I completed everything else though: I read and took notes on On Keeping a Notebook by Joan Didion, watched Brandon Sanderson’s sixth writing lecture and finished the audiobook of The Fantasy Fiction Formula by Deborah Chester.
I also finally finished plotting my novel project and started writing. I’m handwriting it in an A5 Stalogy 365 notebook, and am up to Chapter 3.
I also did more cross stitching than expected. I decided to start working on some mini Kamen Rider cross stitch projects (if you don’t know, Kamen Rider is a Japanese tokusatsu TV show, so in the same vein as Super Sentai/Power Rangers), and was hoping to finish one and at least start the other, but I ended up finishing both!
As I discussed in this post, I already have too many hobbies, but I’ve really been enjoying cross stitching. It’s so relaxing to just put on my headphones and listen to an audiobook or podcast and do some stitching!
For September I’ve pared down my personal curriculum, as I want to keep up with my writing, and I have a couple of crafting projects in mind. My goals are:
- To actually do the commonplace research project I meant to do in August
- To watch Brandon Sanderson’s seventh writing lecture
- To continue writing my novel project
- I have kitted up two more mini Kamen Rider cross stitches, so I’m hoping to finish both of them
- I’ve randomly stumbled across the world of zines, so want to try making one of my own, because yes, I apparently need even more hobbies!
So how has your August been? What have been your stationery favourites of the month? And do you have any September goals?
Inky Imaginings 
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