"It's a String Thing" #157 Tiles

In our home, we celebrate birthdays in a big way - after all, is there a more precious gift than life itself?

When our children were very young, to ease the the natural let down of the passing celebration, my husband Lou instituted the "Happy One Day After Your Birthday" tradition.  We would sing and take the birthday boy or girl - along with the rest of the family - out for ice cream.

In the years since our seven children were little ones, we still wish each other "Happy one day after your birthday".  So in the spirit of our family tradition, here's wishing a
"Happy one week after our birthday to you!"

I must say that the tiles this week are every bit as sweet as an ice cream treat.
We used Lynn Mead, CZT's new Abeko along with her fabulous Phroz.

Let's take a look ~

The first tile arrived from Traci Frogley (Missouri) and also here on this link ~

I've been away from your challenge for awhile. I am thrilled to see you celebrate three years and I am thrilled to be back. Congrats on the milestone!!
I enjoyed this week's challenge (attached), especially Abeko which was new to me. I am sure it will find it's way into my favorite go-to patterns.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*lovely inner aura of the large Abeko - notice how the direction changes with every other section
*Phorz puzzle-like elements scattered about and shaded for dimension

This is my tile ~

I tangled Abeko along the string curl and was surprised that it turned out so small.  To counter that, I turned the tile and used the string's arc to place one large one.  I added aura and then a very simple Phorz background, picking up the dark perfs from Abeko.

From Linda Bladen (United Kingdom) ~

Have lots of time for tangling just at the moment and have been playing around with Abeko for the last few days. I love it because it's so elegant but it needed some imagination to combine it with a grid pattern. Really enjoyed doing this one.

 Tangled Tidbits -
*sparkled ribbon curls for Abeko
*alternating black and white sections of Abeko
*light and dark Phroz




From Trudi (Woodview, Ontario, Canada) ~

Happy 4th year beginnings. This might be my 4th month, I've avoided Tangles that have to have little squares or whatever filled in I think it was a good move on my part I wasn't feeling too Zen like whilst doing them. It did push me to do something I wouldn't have " Man's reach must exceed his grasp" definitely applied here :)

 Tangled Tidbits -
*sparkled Abeko filled string curl and curve
*lovely field of Phroz compliments the airy sections of Abeko


A very warm welcome to Julie (North Carolina) ~

Attached is my very first attempt at your challenge. I have only recently started enjoying zentangle, and have much to learn, but it has been so much fun. When I ran across your blog I was so excited.
Now a place to learn and compare! I have never been an artist at all, but have always loved "doodling"
so when I discovered zentangle needless to say I was Happy!!!
Thanks for this opportunity to share and learn. I look forward to each weeks challenge.
I do not have any "tiles" yet, so I drew a square about the size of one and went at it!Not the best, but it was fun and so relaxing, plus I learned new tangles.

 Tangled Tidbits -
*border and curve of smaller Abeko topped with one larger one
*Phroz shaded at grid intersections


From Alyona Pakhomova (Toronto, Canada) ~

Our contribution to this week challenge.

 Tangled Tidbits -
*loopy Abeko aura - notice how she shaded it through the middle
*Tipple filled Phorz adds wonderful texture

*corners drawn to look tucked in
*doubled Abeko

*three dimensional Phorz
*single looped Abeko spiral



From Susan (United Kingdom) ~

Wow, what a fabulous week of celebration we've had.

Tangled Tidbits -
*a spiral of Phorz - quite an accomplishment!
*aura-ed double Abeko


From sra (India) ~

Sometimes at work, I do a bit of Zentangle for a break between tasks. I play with new tangles or strings for a few minutes. Yesterday, as part of that, I borrowed a pencil from the colleague in the cubicle next to me, an orange one with black wood, a handsome one really. It was really smooth and the rough work I did for this tile you see here came out really well, in all of three minutes. (Yes, I time myself.) I later showed my colleague what her pencil had achieved and she told me to keep it.
After work, I went back home and stayed up late to finish this tile. I am pleased with how it turned out. I am now making another tile for my colleague to show her my appreciation for gifting me her pencil.

What a very sweet story - the gift of a pencil meets the gift of Zentangle...
Tangled Tidbits -
*thick joining lines for Abeko
*singular Phorz triangles along three border lines
*wonderful shading



From Ragged Ray (United Kingdom) ~

Phroz is a great tangle, and one that makes sense to me as long as I keep my focus. It has such a delicious frostyness to it that it encouraged me to sharpen up the usual smoothness of Abeko. I had no intentions when I started tangling, but now that the tile is done I see a metallic dinosaur, heading off to the right, with vines of Abeko tangled through his tail!

Tangled Tidbits -
*fascinating variations - rounded corners of Phorz - N'Zeppel meets Phroz
 *sharp angles for Abeko - notice the Abeko buds
*carefully detailed shading


From Gesine (Germany) ~

here is my contribution for this week. I really liked Abeko and will frequently revisit it in the future.

Tangled Tidbits -
*overlapping Abeko - alternating light and dark spaces - notice how the spiral tapers off in toward the center
*alternating variations of Phorz
*rose-like large Abeko


From Allison Durno (Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada) ~

Abeko worked nicely for the spiral and I added a few corners in Phrox as well as several gray marker auras.

Tangled Tidbits -
*varying shades of gray aura
*alternating light and dark sparkled Abeko


From Renee (Tennessee) ~

Tangled Tidbits -
*pretty Abeko springs from Phorz
*swirled center lines of Abeko


From Linda Goncalves (Pennsylvania) ~

I really loved working with Abecko. I am sure I will use it as one of my "go to"s. I liked Proze too but was having too much fun with Abecko to do it justice.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*Phorz filled Abeko 

*thin curls support larger, lovely Abeko

From Val Steele (Johannesburg, South Africa) ~

Here is my tile for IAST 157. It came out a bit darker than I had anticipated, but I still enjoyed doing ABEKO and PHROZ.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*patch work of alternating Phroz variations

*sparkled Abeko adds curved look - wonderful contrast between the light and darker Abeko

From Lynn Gotham (Palm Coast, Florida) ~

Abeko and Phroz, both fun tangles. Thanks

Tangled Tidbits - 

*aura for the center petal of Abeko, along with shading, weighted lines, and a touch of perfs and pink

*Phroz corners - each unique

From Sabine (Germany) ~

A nice string, two lovely tangles and I have trouble to use them together. I tried it again and again and here is my entry for this week. I'm not so glad but it is what it is. With sunny and warm greetings from Germany

Tangled Tidbits - 

*fablulous Phroz variation - light and dark sections, shading, and detail lines

*perf covered curves and curls

From Jodi Genovese, CZT (New York) ~

Here is my tile for the spiral string. These tangles were new to me, but quite fun to draw.
Thank you again and have a great weekend!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*finely sparkled, plump Abeko

*background of lighter Phorz, shaded along initial grid lines

A very warm welcome to Ulrike Brenn (Berlin, Germany) ~

At the challenge 157 Abeko turned into a radio telescope. And by making Phroz I thought about Milky Way and a spiral galaxy.I tangle mostly an paper coloured with coffee.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*colored with coffee...great idea...

*tapered grid for Phroz moves from larger to smaller and adds to the curved look of the tangle

*Abeko variation includes triangular shapes - great compliment to Phroz

From Michele Wynne (California) ~

...Once again, thank you for another challenging challenge.
I've been bit obsessed with "Abeko" this week. I really love it and your tips made it even better (though I'd already completed this tile). The challenge was getting it to play nicely with Phroz which is a challenge in itself. Phroz is one of those patterns I struggle with but get the greatest joy from when it comes out well. That didn't quite happen here~ C'est la vie;-)Thank you for all you do!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*beautifully shaded and highlighted, perf lined Abeko

*swatch of Phorz between the two string sections

From Amy Barnickel (Orlando, Florida) ~

Hi Adele! There are so many patterns to choose from in Zentangle...sometimes I go kinda nuts with it. ;o)

Tangled Tidbits - 

*a very pretty combination of tangles 

*looped centers of Abeko

From Ingrid (The Netherlands) ~

What a lovely tangle Abeko is. It needs a little exercise to learn how much space is needed between the loops. Thank you for your tangling tips to draw Abeko. That was very helpful.

 Tangled Tidbits -
*tile within a tile features a spiral of elegant Abeko
*Abeko outer petals shaded as well as into the white space
*equidistant lines of Phroz



From Hilary (Spain) ~

Here is my tile for your challenge #157.
Oh my goodness I had trouble with this one! The spiral had me in a whirl :D
If I have deconstructed Phroz too much then I apologize but this is what came to me and I liked it. Maybe it will be too different to qualify and of course I understand that. It's all a learning curve and great fun.Best wishes to everyone.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*fascinating variation of Phroz fills the spiral

*elegant single Abeko

From Rebecca I (Stamford, Connecticut) ~

Happy belated anniversary Adele! I've been traveling without much free time for tangling :-( but I'm happy to return home, and to return to your latest challenge. Both were new tangles for me this week and I enjoyed learning them and then putting them together!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*Phorz shines with white highlights

*large center loops of Abeko

*Abeko spiral floats over Phroz

From Jane Glotzer (Boulder, Colorado) ~

So I'll make this short and sweet...just like my #157...light and airy, no time for too much ink--:) Abeko is quite lovely...room for so many variations and Phroz is one that always amazes with its 3d trickiness.
Very much enjoyed the birthday tangles from everyone...have a great week!Thanks for all you do!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*light and airy Abeko alternates from loop to embellished loop 

*Phroz corners with one "tucked in"

From Jennifer (Alaska) ~

Here is my 2nd IAST tile!. Although I am a dedicated viewer & fan - thank you and Happy Birthday.! When I finished the two tangles it needed a bit more, but shading the frame looked terrible in the picture so I tried my hand at a 3D shadow.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*great shadow and shading

*pretty variation of Abeko features flame shaped details

From Jenny Hopkins (Australia) ~

What a wonderful start to Year 4 of It's a String Thing. I hope you are still glowing from the celebration of last week.
I enjoyed this week's challenge. It was lovely to be introduced to Abeko, a lovely new tangle. I recall using Phroz in a challenge a while ago, where I firmly placed it in the "never again" pile. However, I have enjoyed playing with it this week and I thank you for resurrecting it for me. Never say never!!
Thanks again for all you do.

Tangled Tidbits -
*elongated Abeko loops tangled in a circle
*Phroz arcs, curves, corners, accents - oh my!  Beautiful.
*dark center of Abeko compliments those of Phroz



From Anja (East Frisia, Germany) and here on her blog ~

Many thanks for the great Challenge! Abeko is such a wonderful tangle! I had a lot of fun! I'll definitely try more variants of this tangle.
Happy New Week! & Many Greetings from Germany!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*pink and green add flower likeness to Abeko
*Phroz filled string section shaded around its border and in the centers

From Jami (Ohio) ~

Here's to another year of tangling enjoyment!!!

 Tangled Tidbits -
*three large, lovely, and varied Abeko - one more detailed than the next
*three variations of Phroz tucked in the background



From Susan Theron (Velddrif, South Africa) ~

This was supposed to be a trial run, but I decided that it looked good enough since it is supposed to be about the experience and not the outcome.
About shading - I've splurged and bought some real Zentangle tiles and it is astonishing how better/easier the shading is on the original tiles versus the paper that I usually use for my tiles.

Tangled Tidbits -
*very true - Zentangle tiles are amazing
*Abeko buds run along the string line, aura-ed, shaded, sparkled
*small and large/light and dark Phroz fill the background



From Adri van Wyk (Upington, South Africa) ~

Tangled Tidbits -
*deep shading yields wonderful depth
*aura allows Abeko to stand out
*Phroz moves from simple line to multiple lined variations


From Felicity Strohfeldt (South Africa) and here on her blog ~

Tile 157, first tile of year four. I took a while to cope with lovely Abeko by Lynn Mead. Some practice helped and I even came up with a three-looped one. As you know I don’t enjoy grid patterns much so Phroz was a Challenge an Hmmm! Anyway as usual I enjoyed the artistic road travelled this week.

Tangled Tidbits -
*three-looped Abeko variation - Lynn will be proud!
*free floating sections of Phroz
*double arua-ed center Abeko


From Sharyn Penna (Massachusetts) ~

How graceful are Lynn Mead's tangle patterns. You picked two that blend together perfectly. It was an unintended coincidence that the tangles in my tile reflect the splashes, tumbles, spins, and race lanes we've seen in the Rio Olympic Games ... it will be interesting to see if the games influenced every tile this week! (Funny though, my daughter thinks my tile looks like muscle tissue viewed through a microscope.)Cheers to the Olympic spirit of international unity ... something we see every week at IAST!

Tangled Tidbits -
*curved and spiraled Phroz
*rounded inner corners of Phroz - similar in style to Ragged Ray (I love when that happens!)
*Abeka filled Proz sections
Sharyn first suggested an Olympic themed IAST a few weeks ago and tomorrow's string will fulfill that request - stay tuned!


From Talia Maynard (London, United Kingdom) ~

Tangled Tidbits -
*bold black and white spaces and tangles
*alternating light and dark sections of Abeko and aura



From Henrike Bratz (Germany by way of the United Kingdom) ~

The tile for this week was tangled on my way back home. Passing through London I spent just three hours in the Victoria an Albert Museum, where I had an nice lunch, a stroll through parts of the exhibition, an nice cup of tea and some time for tangling in the sunshine. The shading was added at Heathrow airport.

Tangled Tidbits -
...proof positive that tangling is portable!
*black perfs - shaded, sparkled, and stacked look three dimensional
*elongated Phroz in three corners
*sensational spiral of Abeka - notice the sparkled detail lines of the negative spaces and Phroz filled bases of Abeka



From Anita A Westin (Sweden) ~

...I had great time doing this though I've been visiting my father in north of Sweden! Thank you for this wonderful challenge!

Tangled Tidbits -
*four Abeka form one large bloom
*string's spiral weaves through Abeka
*light and dark versions of Phroz



And now...

the tile (the ZIA) for honors this week...

was sent in by...

Julie Bazuzi from Washington State!

Julie wrote ~

This was a fun combination of pattern and string. I wish I'd had the time this past week to tangle more than one!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*multiple Abeko variations that would make Lynn Mead smile

*Phroz filled red center circle

*Phroz pops into the ribbon-like line of Abeko

*sensational shading add softness and dimension

Julie's tile can also be found  here on her blog .


Congratulations, Julie!
I have a little some thing coming in the mail for you.

Thank you to all of our participants this week for your inspirational work.  

Many thanks to Lynn Mead, CZT, for her two terrific tangles:

Abeko and

Phroz 

Check back Tuesday afternoon for "It's a String Thing" #158!