"It's a String Thing" #136 Tiles

Pi and Pie were on the 'menu' as we gave a nod to National Pi Day with this week's theme.
For some, it brought back pleasant memories of math classes and the memorization of Pi digits.
For others, it conjured up the thought of warm, fruit filled pies.  It makes me smile to think that a few more pies were enjoyed around the world this week as a result of our challenge.

The first email came from a new member of our community - a warm welcome to Karen Aicken (Alberta, Canada) ~

I’m new to your challenges, but excited to be able to play along this week.
Here is my tile (and here on her blog)  I left Tripoli ‘naked’ as I liked that it became a subtle background. :-) I’ve never drawn Pokeroot this large but I like it!

Tangled Tidbits -
*3 Loops 6 tipped Pokeroot
*angled grid and deeply shaded W2

From Adri van Wyk (South Africa) ~

My tile for the week.
Thanks for the challenge - it surely was a sweety-pie and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*striped and sparkled aura for 3 Loops 6 - so pretty!
*cherry red Pokeroot
*beautiful balance of light and dark

From smgg (Taiwan) and on her Instagram ~

Have a nice day!!!

Tangled Tidbits -

*Pokeroot pokes out from W2
*large field of Tripoli compliments the squared W2

From Susan Laing (United Kingdom) ~

Loving the pie/pi theme. I have quite literal in my interpretation. The idea of making it circular just wouldn’t go away, so here it is – poke root pie!

 Tangled Tidbits -
*glorious Pokeroot Pie!
*3 Loop 6 outlined W2


From Joan Delony, CZT (Florida) ~

Tangled Tidbits -
*Tripoli flower stems
*3 Loop 6 stacked and beautifully shaded


From Cheryl Stocks (Black Canyon City, Arizona) ~

Ah, Pi(e) Day! What's not to like?
Did you realize that this year's Pi day matches the value of Pi to four decimal places? 03-14-16, 3.1416? We won't see that again this century!
This particular Zentangle challenge was totally garden-inspired, with little daisy-like brittlebush flowers, apricot blossoms, cherries and a garden path. I enjoyed coloring it in with pencils and was happily sitting still for about an hour to finish it.
So, I accomplished two things thanks to you: using some of my massive collection of art "stuff," and not getting into trouble doing other things I shouldn't be doing!

Tangled Tidbits - 

* gorgeous composition of tangles
*aura-ed 3 Loop 6
*cherry-like Pokeroot
*squares of W2 free float

From Beth Gaughan (North Carolina) ~

Here is my pi and pie tile! Somehow I didn't use Pokeroot or 3-loops-6, but I added Betweed.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

 Tangled Tidbits -
*tiny Tipple background makes the large red Pokeroots pop
*Tripoli with circular corners and dots in the middle of each section



From Jean Beckstrom (Alabama) ~

Tangled Tidbits -
*paired 3 Loop 6, aura-ed, with a black filler for the string section
*Pokeleaf blends into Pokeroot


From Amy Place (Coffs Harbour, Australia) ~

Here is my entry for this week. I tried so hard to hide the string lines, but they took over again! I will continue to try and let the patterns lead the way.
I like using W2 in my work, but have not used the others before, so that was a bit of a challenge, but I will con tune to use 3-Loops-6 as it is such a delicate, pretty pattern.
Thanks for the challenge!

Tangled Tidbits -
*fabulous variations of the tangles all tucked into W2
*tangles change as they cross over the string line


From Jennifer Montag (Kansas City, Missouri) ~

Tangled Tidbits -
*woven lines of W2 continue on through to make the string lines
*lovely layers of the tangles follow a soft curve
*awesome use of aura


From Joanne Faherty (Bedfordshire, United Kingdom) ~

Here's my its a string thing for this week. I like the new 3-loops-6 Tripoli has me tripped up again it all starts going crazy so I decided to make them 'start' falling to disguise it . I need to sit and tangle pages of Tripoli until I can get a proper hang of it I think.

Tangled Tidbits -
*two variations of 3 Loop 6 - one darkened in, one with lines and dots
*five variations of Tripoli - fabulous!


From Ragged Ray (United Kingdom) ~

I've thrown the idea of non-representation out of the window with this week's entry! Here in all it's glory a particularly pie-ish tile. Pastry coloured paper, a W2 (such a dream to shade) pastry lid with a little detail here and there, a Pi of glazed Pokeroot, with little hints of 3-loops-6 which have scorched a bit in the oven but then been dotted with tiny points of white icing! It looks good enough to eat, and I feel hungry just describing it to you!

Tangled Tidbits -
*totally yummy tile - complete with a Pokeroot string line that pops off the page with shading
*3 Loop 6 stems for Pokeroot
*fabulous description - makes me hungry, too!


From Jessie Plouffe (Connecticut) ~

Here is my tile for this week. I love love love all four of these
tangles, and had a great time using them!
Thank you!

 Tangled Tidbits -
*lovely spray of tangles flow from W2 arc
*sparkled arc of Tripoli


From Jennifer Barlow (North Carolina) ~

I finally feel like I "got" Tripoli. I've always struggled with it before, so this challenge was very helpful. I was bound and determined to get those triangles at least marginally even, so I figured out a way to create pencil guides that actually worked for me. (I've tried before, but still struggled.) Then I had more fun playing with my new Polychromos pencils.

Tangled Tidbits -
*"got" is an understatement - Tripoli shines in multiple variations - with one even tucked into W2
*glowing gems repeat in centers of deep blue Tripoli


A very warm welcome to Sabine (Germany) and here on her blog ~

it is the first time for me to took part of your great challenge and it makes me [happy]...
With sunny greetings from Germany

Tangled Tidbits -
*3 Loop 6 covered string lines
*aura-ed sections of Pokeroot neighbor elegant Tripoli variations


From Susan Theron (Velddrif, South Africa) and here on her blog ~ 

There are soooo many tangles, but I love Tripoli although I do not use it much and I love it thanks to tangling tips like yours. Thanks.

 Tangled Tidbits -
*Tripoli with triangular arua
*thick, dark lined arua for 3 Loop 6


From Jane Glotzer (Colorado) ~

We are very familiar with Pi day (3.14)...our youngest son is currently working on a PhD in Statistics at UNC Chapel Hill, so mathematics has always held an important place in our family...also just found out March 14 is Einstein's birthday...nice coincidence, although being born in Europe, his birthday was probably 14/3, but nonetheless...
Cute...well, I hadn't planned on making a cherry pie, but there it is--:) I started with the single Pi string, and put in the W2 on either side of the center space, filled in the center with Pokeroot and lo and behold: Pie! Added a single touch of 3-Loops-6, soft shading and gray tones...no room for any Tripoli...but funny, I'm in the mood for some a la mode...
Have a great week...look forward to playing with some "Citrus."

Tangled Tidbits - 

*great math connections to the day - and reference to ice cream :)
*one large 3 Loop 6
*softly shaded tangles

From Anna Houston CZT 12 (Armstrong, British Columbia, Canada) ~

This is my rendition of string challenge 136. I chose to use just 3 tangles and penned the string( not my normal practice).

Tangled Tidbits -
*doubled string line give each tangle its space
*Tripoli is shaded in between the lines leaving a natural sparkle at the intersections
*dark background of Pokeroot compliments the dark squares of W2


From Tina Kirchhübel (Germany) and here on her blog ~

this is a challenge I absolutely had to do because I love Pi. You can say it's my favorite number. When I learned about Pi in class 8 at school I was immediately fascinated by it and learned 200 digits after the comma by heart. That could sound a bit crazy to some people but I found it great. Meantime I don't know 200 but still 35 digits by heart.
That's why I was very happy about this challenge and tried to do well.
I send you two versions: the first is the normal tile, the second with the digits as a frame around it.
Greetings from Germany

Tangled Tidbits - 

*totally remarkable to be able to know Pi so well :)

*lovely soft Pi symbols repeat in W2

*shading is soft and elegant

From Robin (Nevada) ~

This was a fun challenge! I especially liked Tripoli, but it’s the one that gave me the most trouble. Thank you for the tips on drawing it! My first thought when I saw the four patterns for this week was how similar Pokeroot and Tripoli (with circles in the centers) were. So, I tried to make a transition from Pokeroot into the Tripoli. W2 is so fun to draw, I think it will become a favorite! Thank you for all you do!

 Tangled Tidbits -
*fabulous Tripoli variations - black background, various details on the arcs
*pretty slope of W2
*lovely single line of 3 Loop 6


From Talia Maynard (London, United Kingdom) ~

Another fantastic challenge that I thoroughly enjoyed. I tried very hard not to daydream about pies while I was tangling away but failed miserably!

Tangled Tidbits -
*Tipple, little arcs of shading, and black background for Pokeroot
*little dots fill in the background of a pretty Tripoli


From Karen in Caberra (Australia) and here on her blog ~

This week’s Tangles were all fun to use and, for once, mostly Tangles that I’m familiar with. The 3-loops-6 is new and is one that fits well with my preferred style of drawing. Your tips for drawing Tripoli were helpful, however, I still end up making groups of 5 not 6 Tripoli’s. I used Derwent Watercolour pencils for the colour.

Tangled Tidbits -
*3 Loop 6 string line
*Tripoli groupings trail off into free floating ones


From Sarah (Michigan) and here on her blog ~

Here is my entry for 3/14. Used the string 'Pi' and Tripoli and Poke Root. Added some lavender colors to make the white show up.

Tangled Tidbits -
*the white does show well against the darker colors
*tangles flow into the white space


From Sharyn Penna (Massachusetts) ~

Let me first say that I love your new tangle, Citrus. But the origin story and the photo of your granddaughter picking the last fruit from the aging tree ... whew! Glad a had a box of tissues nearby! Very moving!
Now Pi Day and Tao Day 6/28 (Tao is two times Pi) are celebrated in my math geeky home, so this week's prompt was right up my alley. I used 3-Loop-6 as a filler for Tripoli ... love how they worked together.
Thank you for sharing the zestful Citrus and photos! Cheers!

Thank you for the compliments on Citrus - "zestful" Citrus, as you coined it :)
Tangled Tidbits -
*wonderful 3 Loop 6 filled Tripoli
*graceful curves of W2 grid
*Pokeroot stems flow from Tripoli lines


From Michele Wynne (California) ~

Thanks for another challenging challenge! This did not come out quite as I had envisioned. It got a bit busy as I tried to balance it all out and even pondered starting again but I persevered. Tripoli generally trips me up, starting out nice a neat then it sort goes off the rails...so I just had to let it be;-)

Tangled Tidbits -
*3 Loop 6 covered W2
*spiral filled Tripoli flows into 3 Loop 6 and into Pokeroot


From Jenny Hopkins (Australia) ~

This week's challenge is one that resonates in my house. My daughter is one of those people with incredible rote memories and she can recite pi to 200 decimal places (on a good day). She has provided the first 100 of them for my contribution to It's a String Thing. Do you know that if you round pi to 736 decimal places, it will end in 136 - the number of this week's challenge? I particularly enjoyed drawing 3 Loops 6. It seemed to flow really calmly. And I always love W2 and the way it comes to life and gains dimension as you draw it. Thanks for a fun challenge.

 Tina from Germany would be very proud!
Tangled Tidbits -
*3 Loop 6 lines the string - with aura and shading to one side
*lovely tangles accent the white space
*compliments to the amazing talent of your daughter!


From Karin (Germany) ~

this is my entry to no. 136
I really had fun to fill the four spaces with the four patterns so that the sign of Pi stays white in the middle...
Greetings from Germany

Tangled Tidbits -
*doubled string line with shaded white space to fill it
*pretty tangles fill each of the four string sections


A very warm welcome to Sra (India) and on her Instagram ~

I am Sra from India. I'm a beginner at Zentangle, three months old, so my repertoire is quite limited. I learnt W2 and 3 Loops 6 to participate in your challenge and Pokeroot is one of my favourites, could be because that was one of the first tangles I learnt. I flubbed on the 6, I think, I did it in a different direction!

Tangled Tidbits -
*Pokeroot covered string lines
*corner border of 3 Loop 6 and a full field of W2


From Roberta (Germany) ~

all four tangles were new to me and I had much fun with them!
With Tripoli I had a hard time practicing it but now we are friends :-)

Tangled Tidbits -
*wonderfully shaded W2 - adds great depth
*thick Pokeroot stems and delicate 3 Loop 6


From Linda Boulton (NSW Australia) ~

3 flies on my cherry Pi pie :)
Coloured with Faber-Castell Classic pencils and Prismacolor Colorless Blender.

Tangled Tidbits -
*Tripoli filled string lines
*three 3 Loop 6 'flies' on her cherry pie :)


From Ilse Lukken (The Netherlands) and here on her blog ~

Nice challenge! I liked the Pi-string and the patterns (although I left Pokeroot out). Thank you!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*3 Loop 6 lined strings

*large and small grids for W2

*shaded circles in intersections of Tripoli

From Henrike Bratz (Germany) ~

I didn’t have much time to spare for tangling this week’s tile. All the patterns came out quite unevenly. But in the end it didn’t matter at all. I like the tile, especially the way pokeleaf grows out of tripoli!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*Pokeroot and 3 Loop 6 grow out of Tripoli

*softly shaded and lined W2

From Deb Jacobs (Tishigan, Wisconsin) ~

Here is my answer to your challenge. Have a great week & thanks as always for your time!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*Pokeroot - various sizes and wonderful shading

*curved grid for W2

From Anna Mega and her daughter (Greece) ~

Your challenges always are beautiful... I like it because you give us tangles and strings. So the challenge becomes more interesting......
The "π" (pi) is the sixteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. So this is very familiar. In school we learn about this..... the ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes established the first scientific method by which the number is calculated..........
Anyway, we make zentangle!!!
With my tile, my daughter Marietta, 12 years old, made for your challenge a tile!
here are both...
good afternoon and you have a good zentangle day.....

How very exciting to read your note and to have your tile - and mathematical history - from Greece, thank you!
Tangled Tidbits -
*little perfs accent 3 Loop 6 - notice the tangle tucked in along the string line
*Tripoli sections create lines that curve outward
*both shading and highlight added to the tangles

Tangled Tidbits - 

*3 Loop 6 curls around  W2 filled string lines

*weighted lines in Tripoli

From Sally Sheldon (Massachusetts) ~

Tangled Tidbits - 

*free floating Tipoli and 3 Loop 6

*Tipple along the 3 Loop 6 string line and in Tripoli

From Nadjezdah (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) ~

Tangled Tidbits - 

*pretty, flower-like Pokeroot clusters in W2

*Pokeroot along the string lines

From Linda (Pennsylvania) ~

I really enjoyed working with the string and the tangles this week. 3 Loops 6 was just fun. I especially enjoyed the challenge of W2 and also Tripoli. My Use of W2 is "wonky" but I am sure I will return to it many times. I just couldn't understand how to keep expanding Tripoli. I will need help with that but I think it would make a great monotangle.

Tripoli can be tricky.  There are so many wonderful examples compiled here for us all to learn from.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*large and small 3 Loop 6

*starbursts of Tripoli

From Elisa (Paris, France) ~

I was so busy with work lately that I have missed quite a number of your challenges ...
I really enjoyed finding time to do this one and learn new tangles again.
For a bit of change, I decided to do it on a black tile...
Zen regards

Tangled Tidbits - 

*W2 seems to glow with the white highlights

*each section of the string line is filled with a different tangle

From Ingrid (The Netherlands) ~

Congratulations on your newest tangle Citrus! I think it will be a lot of fun working with this one. I love it already!
In the attachment my tile #136 for this week. What a wonderfull string you made for us. I loved to work with it and also with the tangles, but this time I lost my way drawing Tripoli. 3-loops-6 was my favorite one this time.

Thank you, Ingrid!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*softly shaded white string line looks rounded

*wonderful tangles fill the string sections - including a doubled 3 Loop 6 shaded in the middle

From Kate (United Kingdom) ~

My contribution to this week's challenge. My Pokeroot looks more like
mushrooms than cherries I'm afraid, and Tripoli needs some practice but
I've enjoyed myself - thank you!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*angled grids for W2

*added tear drop shapes for 3 Loop 6

*three variations of Tripoli

From Sue Agnew (Arizona) ~

In trying to deconstruct a pattern that Sue saw on wallpaper of a San Francisco restaurant, she wrote:

...So I set out trying to deconstruct it. It's a 60 degree triangle grid -- horizontal lines and then vertical lines slanting at 60 degrees -- which I find very difficult to draw. While I was messing around with it and putting triangles in each triangular space, I realized it was similar to Tripoli. I tried approaching it by using the small triangles arranged in a Tripoli fashion, but then I realized I could mash them up and lay out a Tripoli with no space between the triangle shapes and put a smaller triangle inside each triangle. I did a stepout (have never done one before).
It was tricky to figure out where to put the lines between the smaller triangles. I finally figured out that each side of the smaller triangle extends in only one direction. And the lines from the smaller triangle in the next big triangle over mirror the lines in the big triangles on either side. (Hope that makes sense. It didn't make sense to me for the longest time.)
So anyway, because this is based on a smashed-together Tripoli I decided it was "fair" to use it in this week's challenge. I did sort of take liberty with the string because since this pattern is so new to me I wanted to impose it on a really regular shape. And the funny thing is, trying to figure out where to put the lines extending from the small triangles felt very similar to deciding where to put the lines extending from the squares in W2. It was funny, and seemed serendipitous, to have happened upon a pattern that incorporates elements of both Tripoli and W2.
Pokeroot I like when other people do it but am never that happy with mine. A year or so ago I visited a friend in San Francisco and there was pokeroot growing in front of her house, and it really looks like that! I thought that was cool.
W2 is one of my favorites -- the first year I learned Zentangle my sister and I were tangling together and she started putting a design in each place where the strips cross over, so I stole her idea.
So here is this week's tile:

Tangled Tidbits - 

*little bits of 3 Loop 6 on W2

*plump Pokeroot along the top string line

*a fabulous "smashed together Tripoli"

AND here are Sue's step outs - 

Thank you for the instructions, Sue.  This pattern has made a few appearances in the tangled world.

CZT Molly Hollibaugh's Y-Not is the same pattern, but her step out is a bit different.    The original mention of the pattern was posted here on the Zentangle® blog. 

From Audrie Weisenfelder (Arizona) and here on her blog ~

... in trying to finish up all the challenges early for once, I got a little sloppy. So, even though I like my tile overall, I'm not so happy with Tripoli. But it is what it is (this seems to be the new catchphrase).

Tangled Tidbits - 

*weighted lines add variety to the tangles

*delicate 3 Loop 6

*shading adds depth

From Annie Taylor (Spain) ~

An inspired and inspiring choice. I always think Pokeroot looks like cherries... And yes, W2 has a pie crust look to it! A mouth watering combination.

Tangled Tidbits -

*3 Loop 6 along the top string line
*one large Pokeroot "cherry"
*sparkled Tripoli

A very warm welcome to Danielle DeRome, CZT20 (California) ~

Thanks for your Pi Day challenge. It was fun!

 Tangled Tidbits -
*spectacularly filled W2  - such a lovely variety of tangles
*delicate Tripoli and wonderful shading throughout



From Anita A Westin (Dalarna, Sweden) and here on her blog ~

 

Tangled Tidbits - 

*three variations of Tripoli

*aura-ed 3 Loop 6 layered with Pokeroot and aura-ed again

*great contrasts with light and dark and shading

From Daniel Lamothe (Oaklahoma) ~

So much fun ^_^ This one kinda reminds me of grapes.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*pretty cluster of Pokeroot accented with the other tangles

*fabulous curl of a minimal W2

And now...

the tile for honors this week...

was sent in by

 Lily Moon (Hungary) ~

Dear Adele, here is my tile for your Pi Day challenge.
ZenHug

Tangled Tidbits - 

*3 Loop 6 and Pokeroot lined string

*Tripoli variation with dots that repeat in W2

*brown W2 with black squares - and little pops of 3 Loop 6

*color, textures, shading, and tangles all add up to a beautiful Pi/pie themed tile

Congratulations, Lily!

I have a little something coming in the mail for you.

Thank you to everyone who sent in their works of art for the rest of us to learn from and enjoy.

Thank you to all of the creative minds behind the tangles we used with my Pi Day ispired string:

3-Loops-6  by CZT Mina Hsiao

Pokeroot by Maria Thomas, Zentangle® co-founder

W2 also by Maria Thomas

Tripoli also by Maria Thomas

Check back Tuesday afternoon for "It's a String Thing" #137!