"It's a String Thing" #66 Tiles

This week's string was quite different than most we've used in past challenges.  The border type tangles proved a "tough combination" with the string as Katie Booth described them.
She sent in the first tile and despite the difficulties, added that she still "had fun playing around!" ~

Katie combined Eke and Eyelet & Ribbon (from this mention forward - E&R) adding twists and turns - what fun!

Colorado's Peggy Kohrmann, last week's honoree, wrote ~

I am sending in my two tiles for this week. The first one seemed to need a bit of color because of the ribbon aspect. The second tile became a duo tangle when I saw Eez going down a funnel and Echo behind.

Note how Peggy combined Eke and E&R.  She added depth to the blue ribbon area of E&R by curving the lines on either end of the blue ribbon in the same direction like so - ( ( .
It is interesting how that effects the look of the tangle, isn't it?

Here Peggy uses shading and Eez to define the string line along with an Echo back ground.

From France Juul said, "So here is my tile # 66. I love lace and tried to create a kind of lace-ribbon."  and she added, "I send you a nice piece of our lovely French autumn-sun "

Not only did she create a lovely rendition of E&R, she embellished it with scrolls and a touch of color. Notice, too, her two toned Eke border.  

South Africa's Felicity Strohfeldt wrote ~

Wow!? My first reaction. Eke, Eke, Echoed, in my head how will I manage to Eez the Ribbon through the Eyelet on String. no 66? A Challenge! It sure was, as I’ve not used any of these tangles before. Not overly clued on “border” patterns, I mulled them over in my head, practised Eke, enjoyed that one, tried Echo, not too bad, wiggled Ribbons through lacey Eyelet, hmmmm, and thought back to school days and writing practice, using E. Came up with this. Jury’s still out on the verdict, but thanks, no. 66 was a great challenge.

The jury has rendered a verdict and it is unanimous - this is fabulous :)  Eez seems to spin off of the Eke spiral and the many variations of the tangle give it even more energy.  Echo and E&R provide a steady base.


From Massachusetts Sharyn Penna said ~

Eke was the only tangle I'd worked with before. So I practiced each tangle one evening then picked up a tile two nights later. It's always a happy surprise when the patterns finally come together. I really love Eez...it's like a ribbon/vine and it plays well with Eyelet & Ribbon. Eke made a fun picot edge. Echo is one I'm going to need to work with...I like the way some can turn it into an ogee design...

Eke on the edge of E&R - now that is a simple and elegant idea.  How many times does that appear on lace and trims and yet we see it here as 'new'?!  Fascinating.
Sparkle and shading on Eez are pretty touches as is Sharyn's shading.

From New Jersey CZT Lucy Banta said, "The string sure was tricky, but a lot of fun to figure it out... Here's the link to my blog"

Lucy's tile includes Echo without the white spaces, E&R dark and shaded, and Eke with detail lines - and they add up to a lovely piece.

Janice Johnson wrote, "I am sending in my submission for this week's challenge. I didn't use the line coming down on the string as I liked the end result the way it was."

She also sent her first attempt - that she said she didn't care for until she scanned it - 

Perhaps scanning is akin to holding the tile at arm's length - one of the keys to practicing the art of Zentangle® !  A bit of distance helps in the appreciation of one's work.  Both of Janice's tiles have a delicate look and are shaded beautifully.

The Netherlands' Natasja Rijsbergen said that this one was "more difficult" as she wondered how to combine the tangles with the string.  As a result she drew two tiles ~

And both are just wonderful.  She includes different sizes and variations of E&R and just look at how it changes when she adds aura. That is yummy!  So many details - take for instance Eke in the second tile - darkened, shaded, and aura-ed.

Ilse Lukken wrote, "Another nice challenge with new patterns to me! I decided to put some colour in it too, just for a change ;-)"

It is a pretty burst of blue.  The dark bold area plays well against the lighter lines of Echo and makes E&R stand out.


Kirsten Bish said ~

Enclosed please find my newest Tangle. Entitled, "With Ease"... I really enjoyed Eylet & Ribbon, and Eez turned out simpler and lovelier than I thought it would. I think Echo will look better in a bigger space, but I do like it.

That is a very clever title given that all the tangles begin with the letter 'E'.  To read Kirsten's words that a pattern turned out simpler and lovelier than she thought it would is a tangled treat - as is her tile.


Germany's Sandra Shon wrote ~

 I like the string very much and when I saw the suggested patterns I knew immediately that I want to use "Eyelet + Ribbon" for the string :-)
I decided to use Echo in the background and when I finished I had the idea to use a bit colour. So here is my result ;-)
It was a great fun again!
I also show the tile on my blog

That is a wonderful use of color.  This is an elegant balance of line and space.  Notice how she shaded Echo around each diamond shape.  

New CZT Caroline Moore said ~

What a great string this week! It was fun incorporating the 4 tangles ~ Eez was particularly fun, and I’ve always enjoyed the look of eyelet & ribbon.
I posted my string on my blog…

An Eke border with the loops filled in, Echo on a string, and an aura-ed Eez are just a few of the delightful details Caroline included in this tile.

Portia Hyde said, "Four tangles I was not very familiar with and I am learning to play with them until I like them!"

It shows that she likes them now - especially E&R.  Portia carried the lines of Echo into Eez and then onto E&R and she shaded her tile beautifully.

From the Netherlands Ingrid Coventon wrote ~

When I saw the string I loved it but filling was a bit difficult. All tangle patterns were new to me and although they are not my favorites, I had a good time with them and wouldn't have missed playing with them. To let them work for me I had to keep it simple and clear, so there is a lot of white space. But that makes the tile airy and breathable I think.Thank you for this opportunity.

Ingrid added a new look to these tangles with her delicate line work.  She varied the thickness of the lines to draw her tangles and her shading makes them rise off of the paper.  That is glorious.


New CZT Judy Wanner from Pennsylvania said, "...I look forward to every one's tiles. Amazing talent and a super way to improve which is always my goal. One thing that would help is less caffeine!!!

(I read that while I sipped my second cup :)
Judy's wonderful white space shows off her tangles as does her shading and those those extra dots on Echo.


From England, Ragged Ray wrote ~

 One thing I love each week is that sometimes I immediately see and know how I want my tile to look, the way to put the tangles together seems so obvious - and I foolishly assume every one elses will look the same - but of course they never do!
This week my tile seemed obvious. A blanket of tangles. Echo darkly shaded forming the main cloth, with an Eke fringe and then that rogue ribbon of white running through, following the string line. Not the first time I've interpreted tangles as if they were fabrics and not the last. But no surprise that my thoughts turn to blankets and winter draws close.

Can't you just feel the warmth of it all from her words to her tile?  Makes me want to grab cup of tea and curl up.  Notice how she shaded the entire surface of Echo and excluded the outline of E&R.  It is a cozy piece.


Susan Theron writes from South Africa ~

Here is my tile. This string lent it to a tangle as the string - but which one? I've tried eke and eez, but decided on eez. I did not have space for echo although I like it.

Elongated Eke, an Eez string, and a lacy E&R are splendid details.  Note, too, that the tangles have a relatively similar weight to them.  It is a very pretty look.

Tonya Barlow said that she created a collage of tangles ~

Most eye catching are the many variations of Eke she created - and they appear to be layered underneath the other sections of the string line.

Cathy Cusson's joy can be felt in her words ~

 I planned on using all four of the tangles and got to having soooo much fun with these two, changed my mind.

Echo and Eez and wonderful shading make for a very happy tile - and tangler!


From Colorado, Jane Glotzer wrote ~

Brrrr...only 2 days reprieve and we are back to a cold, snowy day...the bright side? a warm burning fire by which to tangle...
Just for fun, I decided to start with a round "tile" this time before I even saw the challenge and I thought it ended up a nice contrast to the squareness of the string. I kept this one pretty simple, leaving lots of white space! and choosing only to focus on using the lacing part of Eyelet and Ribbon along the string line and then filled it in with lots of Eez...after I had colored them, I felt like the "holes" needed some outlines and then that lace took over, and it broke right out through the edges! :)
SInce I don't usually tangle along the string line, this was a new approach, but that string seemed to cry out for it! I am looking forward to seeing what others did with it. I thought I might get some Echo in there too, but it never found its place!

Arizona's Sue Agnew said ~

I had never run across Eyelet & Ribbon before, and I had so much fun with it. It took me back to my very early Zentangle days when one of my favorite tangles was the official tangle Lace. So I ended up doing the easy and obvious, using the eyelet to outline the string. Then I "cheated" because it seemed like the background HAD to be gingham because what else do you sew eyelet onto? So instead of using solid squares where the lines cross, I filled them with diagonal lines, hoping that my small homage to Echo would "count."
(Although I didn't end up using it, I also enjoyed experimenting with Eez -- although they kept coming out looking like a string of the letter S -- I guess we're best at the letters from our own names?)

What can be added to her own description but that this is a gorgeous tile - simple and sweet.

Cat Trask sent this from Oregon ~

She said. "Thanks again for these wonderful weekly challenges. They are so helpful for me to learn new tangles and practice, practice, practice!"  She added that she felt rushed with this tile, but wanted to get something sent in.
Cat tangled along the string line using all four of the given tangles and then shaded - a wonderful idea.


From Connecticut, Brooke Provost wrote ~

This was a tricky one for me... So many border and string patterns, I wasn't sure what to make of it. Finally, I just plunged in and before I knew it, this tile was done.
Fun!

She described the best of a Zentangle experience - to dive right in and surprise yourself with the result.
There were many border tangles, as we have mentioned, and Brooke used them well here.  They also play so well against the Echo back drop.

From the Netherlands, Annemarie wrote this on her blog post~

I came very close to throwing this tile in the bin. I have seldom worked longer on a tile as now, but it just became 'nothing'. The only thing I could do to make it better, was giving it some color, but .... it's still 'nothing'. Yet I decided to send it in, just because I think that I should do that and not only those tiles that are successful in my opinion. But .... to be honest, I would have liked it in the bin better.
The string (nr. 66 by Anne Marks) was a hard one, but fitting the tangles in it, was (for me) almost impossible. I used Echo, Eez and Eylet & Ribbon.
Yet I want to thank Adele and Anne because this will teach me what I say so often, that it's not about the result.

Yes, it truly is about the process - although the result is very beautiful.  Annemarie created a zig-zag edge to E&R and that must be anew tangleation.  Eez along the string line and a flurry of Echo finish off her tile.


Also from the Netherlands, Carmela wrote, "Thanks for this challenge with much border patterns. It was a real challenge to make this one to a nice result "
She also posted it here on her blog.

Carmela created a wonderful mix of tangles and white space, light and shade, dark and airy line work.


A warm "Hallo Frau Bruno" arrived from Germany's Elena Müller ~

This is my contribution to your challenge this week. The result looks a bit dark as I wished and the shading is not perfect, but I'm satisfied.
Here's the link.

To be satisfied with your work is a wonderful goal - as is this tile.  The dark center of Eke plays well beside Echo and that in turn works well with the bold E&R and it is all wrapped up in pretty pink.

From Illinois, Kathryn White said ~

I had a difficult time with this challenge. I thought my results looked like intestines. yuck! I tried several tiles. Time's up. Looking forward to seeing what others drew.

Intestines?!  That is funny.  The very lacy E&R counters that image.  Notice how she placed bows in the corners and how she incorporated Eke on the outside of the tangle.  Shading the entire background made the patterns stand out.


Kristen Kostelnik Killips sent in this tile ~

She also used a large and lovely white space that shows off her tangles.  Note Eez in each of the lower corners.



And now, the tile for honors this week was sent in by 
Lily Moon of Hungary ~


She wrote, "...this is my tile for your weekly challenge. I don't know why but this challenge was hardest for me. Maybe about many of the same type tangle. But eventually I'm pleased with it."

"Pleased as punch" as they say - what a fabulous tile!  With a daring dark side and superb details, Lily's tile shines.  Note the way she tangled Eke.  She aura-ed the inside sections, added stripes and sparkle and a touch of brown to the little loops.

Congratulations, Lily!  I have a little something coming in the mail for you.

Thank you to everyone who sent in a tile this week.  

If you learned something from a particular tile, or want to share an observation of your own, please leave a comment below.  We learn from each other.

Thank you to the creative minds behind the string and tangles used this week ~

TanglePatterns String 063 by Anne Marks
Echo by CZT Sue Clark
Eez by CZT Judy Burkett
Eke a Zentangle® pattern
Eyelet & Ribbon by Lori Howe

Stop back Tuesday afternoon for "It's a String Thing" #67!