Recently I saw Mike from Inkdependence talk about the Clairefontaine Flying Spirit notebooks, and I wanted to try one! I selected the Clairefontaine Flying Spirit A5 Sewn Spine Notebook in White with lined paper ($8.95 at Vanness). 
I know this notebook isn’t new, but I love Clairefontaine paper and the whimsical flight illustrations appealed to me. When I received mine I had gotten the Astronaut on the cover.
The Flying Spirit notebooks are A5, 14.8 x 21cm and have 48 sheets (96 pages) of 90gsm ivory paper. The Cover, which is actually 3 panels (the third to be used as a book mark), is made from cardstock. While the Flying Spirit collection does have a blank sketchbook, most have lined paper (brown and black covers available as well). The notebook has a sewn binding in a gold thread that matches the foil logo and illustration on the front cover.
The third panel on the cover gives some brief information on Clairefontaine and notes that the paper is acid free and sourced from sustainable forests.
So let’s get to the paper.
The paper itself is super smooth and I used fountain pens, pencils, gel inks and fine liners with no trouble at all. There was a bit of ghosting on the reverse side, but no bleed through with anything I used. The lines are 5/16″ or .8cm wide, which is a bit wide for me, but perfectly serviceable. In general, I don’t mind ivory colored paper, though I admit it looks a little odd against the bright white cover.
Overall this is a fun little notebook. I suspect it will become a place to jot down knitting design ideas since I can tuck labels and other items into pages with the added third panel to keep them safe.
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