In feature

Resolutions: Ana

Author AnaPosted on 3 Comments

I look forward to the start of the New Year and my opportunity to re-evaluate my goals and plans for the coming year. For me, it’s about goal-setting and the like rather than giant RESOLUTIONS.  I like to go through my mental bucket list and see if there’s anything I can accomplish in the coming year.

I’ve been so busy with work that its been hard to focus on the “what’s next”.  It took a few days for me to be able to decompress and reflect. This year was way too busy and not keeping track of things in a physical way created a feeling that I had lost whole months. Does this happen to you?

There are a few things that have topped my list though.

Bike

Get back on my bike. I love riding bicycles. I’m not an athlete about it. I just like the feeling of pedalling, the breeze in my face and the quietness of being on a machine that is human-powered. Bicycling has the added benefit or being a physical activity which I need to do more often. I sit on my duff way too much.

stack of notebooks

Find a planner/calendar system and stick with it. I am often asked to review planners which makes it easy for me to jump from system to system and then abandon them. I’d like to stick to a system for a whole year and be better about tracking day-to-day events. I tried Austin Kleon’s system (also this link and this one) for a bit in the past and I like the concept of it but need to find a different way to keep track. I need to integrate it into my daily carry somehow. Whether this is three notebooks in a cover (like a Traveler’s Notebook or a Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter) or three separate books, I don’t know. If anyone has better recommendations, let me know.

watercolor paint

Make time for personal creativity. Last year, between work and my blog, I didn’t have much time for anything else. I didn’t have time to knit, read or do any of the other creative endeavors I wanted to explore. This year, I want to carve out time for this since it’s important to me. I have a dress half-sewn, the start of material for collage projects and many, many balls of yarn patiently waiting to be knit into something.

I’m sure I have smaller goals I’d like to accomplish, but these are the big ones. What are your goals or plans for 2019?

 

In video

Flashback: Pen Addict World Tour Toronto Video

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment

In case you missed the silliness that ensued back in late October when Brad, Myke and I went to New York and Toronto, I thought I’d post the video here. Being the holidays, I figure most people are puttering around, relaxing and just hanging out. This video is my chance to hang out a bit with you.

We had so much fun and its one of my favorite memories from 2018. Hope you enjoy it too.

In feature

New Year’s Resolutions: Tina

Author AnaPosted on 3 Comments

by Tina Koyama

Tina's cleanout

I have only one resolution for 2019, and it’s the same as the one I made (and kept – at least halfway) a year ago: Clear out my studio of all unneeded art and craft materials, office supplies and stationery items. Yes, I still hoard use art and craft materials, office supplies and stationery items, but my needs and interests change. Last year I filled many bins with books and craft supplies that I hadn’t used in a long time and hauled them all to appropriate charities and nonprofit organizations. I felt so much lighter, and I made space for current collections and other interests. After doing the job on half my studio, though, I ran out of steam, so I’m looking forward to finishing the job on the other side of the room in early 2019.

In Link Love

Link Love: Boxing Day Edition

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
Link Love: Boxing Day Edition

I spent the morning researching the origin of the term Boxing Day. Thank you, Wikipedia.

If you’re not doing Boxing Day shopping, maybe you are ready for some of the year-end round-ups?

Year-End Round-Ups and Lists:

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

In feature

My Goals for 2019: Laura

Author Laura CameronPosted on 3 Comments

By Laura Cameron

Each year I waffle on whether to make resolutions, mostly because I can’t always anticipate the way the year will go and if I’ll even want to continue what I started by the time I’m halfway through the year. So rather than call them resolutions, let’s just call them goals.

This year I decided to use my St. Belford Curation 2019 Diary to help me organize my goals for the year (my earlier review is here). I haven’t used their pages exactly as prescribed, but I have filled in some goals and habits with a few details.

Goal 1: Publish 4 knitting pattern designs in 2019.

One of the things I do is design a few knitting patterns here and there. I usually only design if the mood strikes me, and then I self-publish my designs on Ravelry. For the past few years I’ve done a couple of patterns per year, but I’d like to double that in 2019. For now, I’ll start by creating mood boards on Pinterest, swatching stitch patterns with yarns I like, and dreaming of warm wooly things!

Goal 2: #Spin15aday

Since knitting isn’t weird enough, I also spin my own yarn using fiber and a spinning wheel. This year I’m joining the #spin15aday challenge which is to spin at least 15 minutes per day. I already spin most days so it’s not too much of a challenge, but they also have fun prompts for each month that I’d like to follow along with. I’ve added those challenges to the diary!

Goal 3: Around the Year in 52 Books.

Each year I set a reading goal for myself on Goodreads. This year I joined the Around the Year in 52 Books group. Basically, each week the group has a prompt for what kind of book to read. Examples include a book that has won an award in 2018, a book with who/what/where/why/how in the title, etc. The prompts are there for you if you want them to help you read outside your comfort zone, but the main goal is just to read a book a week. I have read 50+ books in a year in the past, so this seems doable. I also like the idea of tracking what I read during the year. Although I do already track that on Goodreads, I like the idea of planning my reads and having a list in my diary as well.

Goal 4: Prepare for Ireland.

My husband is kind of a fitness nut. (Hey I have my pens and my knitting!) He’s been running half-marathons in the past few years and is gearing up to train for an Iron Man in 2020. He’s been trying to get me interested in exercising more and last year he convinced me to sign up for Race 2 Adventure’s Ireland trip this coming summer. Basically I need to be able to walk/jog anywhere between 5k and 12k (3.1-7 miles) each day, over the course of a week as we tour Ireland. So this is the fitness and exercise portion of my resolutions. Truly, I just don’t want to hold the group up by coming in later than everyone else, and I don’t want to be miserable the entire trip. So I’ve got some exercise goals to gear up for that.

Goal 5: Use what I have stashed.

I have a lovely collection of pens and inks and I want to use them more! My goal is to place them strategically around the house so I’m always grabbing a fountain pen. I also want to rotate through my inks more since I have a whole drawer full. I won’t guarantee I won’t buy more things (all in the name of reviewing for you!).

I also have a pretty large stash of yarns to knit and fibers to spin. This year I’d like to buy less and spend more time with the lovely materials I already own!

So there you have it, my goals for 2019. Maybe this year I”ll check in mid-year and we’ll see where I’m at!

In Ink Review

Inkmas Day 11: 3 Oysters Red Wine

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment
Inkmas Day 11: 3 Oysters Red Wine

12 days of Inkmas

While I do not drink red wine (it makes me sneezy! Who is so foolish as to be allergic to wine?) I do appreciate the rich colors of red wine. 3 Oysters Red Wine ($18 for 38ml bottle)  is probably a good approximation to the color of some red wines without looking like dried blood (I’m looking at you Montblanc Shakespeare Red Velvet, you big liar!).

Red Wine is a warm, deep red with some purple undertones giving it that “squeezed from a grape” vibe of red wine.

Unlike a lot of reds which tend to lean to bright, vibrant red or red-orange-y or a maroon with black undertones, 3 Oysters Red Wine is reddish but also touched with a little purple making it a bit subdued. I found it to be a great accompaniment to the Platinum 3776 Shungyo. In the past, I’ve filled it with brighter red and then found myself not using the pen because the ink was too bright. This is a more subtle, grown-up red. I feel like writing about Venice or other Italian cities with my inky wine.

It even made me want to write neater. Inkmas has definitely brought it to my attention that I’ve been neglecting writing and practicing my calligraphy for over a month. I was very rusty this week. Hopefully the holidays will give me time to practice.

When compared to other reds in my collection, you can see that Red Wine (top swatch)  shades but does not sheen. That honor goes to Sailor Jentle Grenade (bottom swatch). I included two swatches from Birmingham Pen Co. — Fort Pitt Blockhouse and Ebenezer Penny Carmine ($7.99) — those boys over at Birmingham love deep, dark colors! I include Callifolio Grenat ($12 for 40ml bottle) which I’d thought of as a wine color but it is definitely more pink than 3 Oysters Red Wine.

The Birmingham inks lean more brick-y or brown than Red Wine. Though Blockhouse is probably pretty close. The Sailor Jentle Grenade is a popular red for its sheen but if sheen is not your thing, I’d give Grenade a hard pass. It has a gold green sheen.

So, with all those comparisons, I think it’s easy to see that, in the wine category of colors, there are as many options as there are bottles of wine in the world. I think 3 Oysters offers a great red wine color with Red Wine.

Tools:

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.