"It's a String Thing" #165 Tiles

We were introduced to a new tangle this week - PIB (Pearl in Balance) by German CZT Hanny Waldburger, and it was enthusiastically received.

The notes below are a testament to the dear and loving community that we have here at IAST.  Thank you again for your concern and prayers for our safety here in Florida.  Most of us in the state escaped the worst of Hurricane Matthew as I mentioned in yesterday's post.  Some areas are still without power, but for the most part, getting back on our collective feet is a very doable task.

Let's take a look at the tiles ~

The first email arrived from Lori Byerly (Washington State) and here on her blog ~

I really like the new pattern pib. Thanks so much to introducing us all to it.

Tangled Tidbits -
*singular PIB with weighted line curls
*rounded, darkened lines of Flux and PIB and soft shading



From Sandra (Germany) and here on her blog ~

this was a wonderful challenge :-) I had a lot of fun to tangle the new pattern PIB and Flux is one of my favorites. I also like the pattern Verve but this time I didn't find a place on my tile where I would like it, so I decided to leave it out ;-)
The tile is very flowery in the end and I really calmed down when I tangled it. Thank you so much :-)

Tangled Tidbits -
*"flowery" - yes - and Flux serves as leaves
*perfs repeat in the border, in PIB, and along the border



From Joan Delony, CZT (Florida) ~

This week's challenge was interesting. As I am sitting in my ocean front house awaiting Hurricane Matthew, I am tangling to ease my anxiety. I decided to give this week's IAST challenge a go. Now that I am finished, I realized how much my tile resembles what is going on around me. Flux takes on the appearance of white capped waves, PIB is the sun poking out of the heavy cloud cover, and Matthew approaches from the edge in the form of Verve. It will all be over when this is posted.

Joan text this morning to say that she and her family are grateful to have fared well, escaped with minor home damage, and a few days without electricity.  It is such a relief.
Tangled Tidbits -
*sunburst accents of PIB
*one large wave of Verve



From Karin (Germany) ~

this is my entry to no. 165.
Thank you for another great challenge!!!Greetings from Germany!

Tangled Tidbits -
*two variations of PIB and Flux
*shading accents the complimentary light and dark spaces


From Simone, CZT (Germany) and here on her blog ~

PiB from Hanny Waldburger is a beautiful new pattern and the combination of the tangles which you chose this week is just beautiful. I must admit that the string was a bit challenging for me – but at least I did it!
We used PiB tangle this week in a German Facebook Group "Tanglespielerei" and created monotangles with PiB with many beautiful results. If you like, you can find a link to my first PiB tile in the link [above].
Just now, when I write this blogpost, you people in Florida are preparing for a severe hurricane. In Europe, where I live, this is not as present, but I read it in your „Wednesdays Words of Wisdom“ today.
And this evening we heard in the News about the evacuations on the US East coast.Adele, my thoughts are with you and your family, friends and all the people which are affected by the hurricane. Stay safe!

Tangled Tidbits -
*beautiful blue coloration for PIB
*curves of Flux and Verve flow together


From Vicki Mitchel, CZT 25 (Moscow, Idaho) ~

Wow! What a fun challenge! Thank you. All the fun variations of PiB looked so much like silver jewelry that I had to test them out in color to see if that was true. Verve also wanted to play along. The attached tiles are the result of their games, the second tile started while I waited for an eye appointment.

 Tangled Tidbits -
*the tangles have the personality described - wonderful movement
*PIB drawn at three different angle

*PIB layered pearls
*Flux and Verve meld together


From Ragged Ray (United Kingdom) ~

Just a quick note as this week has run away with me. I loved your string, but it demanded I flip it upside down to use it! PIB is a great tangle - really fun and decorative and I know I will play with it more. And Verve - well that's a personal favourite - it asks for a bit of concentration to get those lines parallel, but when you shade it pays back all your effort. And I used a dripping Flux variation that I came up with one time.

Tangled Tidbits -
*such a lovely compliment for Verve
*dripping Flux (that is a new personal favorite)
*lovely shaded pearls of Verve and PIB


From Renee (Tennessee) ~

Tangled Tidbits -
*elegant shading and coloring
*Verve flows from dainty swirls of PIB



From Hilary (Chicago, Illinois) ~

I hope everything is still ok where you're at and that the storm has had no impact at all!
Here's my offering for this week's challenge. I didn't have a plan in mind, just jumped in where I thought it might turn out interesting. In the end I decided not to use Verve. Not that I don't like it, I do, I do! It's just that lately I'm trying to get away from covering every millimeter with patterns. I want to try leaving some white spaces.

Tangled Tidbits -
*Flux filled string line complete with detailed Tipple
*free floating PIB - seven variations!



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

Thank you for another inspiring challenge. PIB is a beautiful tangle!

Tangled Tidbits -
*flower like variation of PIB
*soft waves of Verve



From Julie (North Carolina) ~

I hope you are safe and sound.Here is my tile for this week.

Tangled Tidbits -
*lovely loop of PIB
*Verve-like Flux



From Siri (California) and here on her blog ~

Attached is my Zentangle tile. Flux is my favorite tangle pattern of all and Verve was super fun to learn. This week I also added some color.

 Tangled Tidbits -
*decorated lines of Verve
*tangle filled Flux



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

What a Beautiful Little pattern you choose for this string. Hanny Waldburger´s PiB. As she said in her blog, the Pearl should be protected as the treasure it is! Whow I loved to read what she had written about this pattern!

Tangled Tidbits -

*elegant layering of the tangles
*lovely variation of PIB - green gem, petals, long curls...

From Cheryl Rotnem, CZT11 (California)  ~

​It's been a while since posting, but here I am. This was a fun tile to create.​

Tangled Tidbits - 

*PIB variation with curled lines reflect those in Flux and Verve
*soft string line shines through

From sra (India) ~

I've gone minimalistic this time. I haven't used Flux before. But it seemed quite easy to draw. Hope you and yours and everyone else are fine and the storm didn't do any damage.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*elongated PIB with light/dark details
*Flux branches and swirl

From Lily Moon (Hungary) ~

Dear Adele, here is my tile for your weekly challenge.Hug :

Tangled Tidbits - 

*exquisite tangles - sparkle and highlights add fabulous dimension
*loop of the string left as shaded white space

From Jennifer (Switzerland) ~

Here's my version of challenge #165. I drew the string on a bijou tile and had fun doing Verve around it!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*wonderful idea to begin on a Bijou and finish it on a black tile
*Verve lines tipped with PIB perfs

From Patricia (Switzerland) ~

An exciting tangle! (Flux, pib, verve and tipple)

Tangled Tidbits - 

*clusters of Flux and single floating Verve
*PIB along three border lines

From Miriam G (Port Hueneme, California) ~

Thank you for introducing me to PIB - I still need to work on it some, but I love the pattern! Can't wait to see how it works it's way into to future tiles.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*delicate PIB shines by the larger Verve and Flux
*weighted outlines for Verve and Flux add dimension as does the elegant shading

From Juul (France) ~

Thinking about you all the time I zentangled today not as zen as usual....... i really hope you came through that storm without damage! ... I turned my tile upside down, sorry Hanny , for your H !

Tangled Tidbits - 

*one very beautifully detailed PIB

*intertwining Vervc

From Susie (St. Louis, Missouri) ~

Tangled Tidbits - 

*towering Flux with dark filler
*softly shaded PIB, weighted lines, and dashed aura all add dimension

From Pam Clower (Heidelberg, Germany) ~

Thank you for your hard work publishing these challenges and allowing us to see the incredible diversity of results!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*alternating PIB pearls - one blossoms into Flux
*Tippled Flux flows into Verve

From Tina Kirchhübel (Germany)

What a wonderful challenge. PiB is such a great pattern and I love the story behind that Hanny described on her blog. I already found PiB some days before and played a bit with it. So when I read that PiB is part of your challenge I absolutely wanted to draw a tile for it.
I had a long break from your challenge because of other projects and not enough time but I hope I can participate more often the next weeks.Greetings from Germany

Tangled Tidbits - 

*shaded string line shows off the large single PIB
*white, shaded, and dark centers of Verve

From Talia Maynard (London, United Kingdom) ~

I really hope you're staying safe down on Florida. Sending you and your family and friends best wishes while the hurricane continues. May it pass by you quickly and quietly.
Here's my tile for this week's challenge. I had a lot of fun with this one, and especially liked adding the jewel in PIB. I see a lot of zentangle artists use them and I've always wanted to try it. I will definitely be doing them again!

Tangled Tidbits -
*overlapping 'petal' details of PIB around a beautiful blue gem center
*sparkle and shading add sense of depth


From Linda (United Kingdom) ~

We have been following the hurricane on the news here and I hope all is well with you and your family. This week's tangles were all new to me and I really enjoyed learning them. Thank you.

Tangled Tidbits -
*long and short waves of Verve with soft shading and sparkled centers
*two variations of Flux


From Gesine (Germany) ~

I almost missed the deadline this time – I only started with the tile today. It was completely done in a theme park we visited with our son, which is not exactly the quiet location one would probably chose for Zentangle. However, it was completely unplanned and just flowed from the pen, and I really like the outcome! Verve is a really fun and very versatile pattern and might become one of my favorites…
Thanks for this great challenge,

Tangled Tidbits -
...what a fun place to tangle!
*Flux and PIB lined string
*light and dark Verve create fabulous depth



From Amy Barnickel (Florida) ~

Here is my "string thing" for this week. My daughter and I love the Flux pattern!

Tangled Tidbits -
*spiraled center for Verve
*weighted curves of PIB - notice the two sweet side pearls

From Jane Glotzer (Boulder, Colorado) ~

First off, I hope you, family and friends all made it through the storm easily and safely! From the news it seems Florida escaped major damage, but it certainly looks like it still took quite a hit. We have family in the southern part of the state, too. I'm sure the IAST community all had you in mind as we tangled this week--:)
Here is my entry for #165...no planning at all for this one, and I think it looks a little different than my usual style...maybe? Started with the center piece of some PIB in the crook of the "h" tail...and then added a touch of Flux there...moved on to the Flux in the lower left and Tippled the background...balanced with more Flux on the right...didn't want so much dark background there, so I just went with a soft pencil gray...then let the Tipple flow into the "bubble" above...finally finished with a few sections of Verve floating around the top...liked the empty space, so I didn't fill completely...a touch of shading always makes things pop--:) While not planned out at all, there are a few areas I like quite a bit...I think my favorite is the Verve...
Here's to a wonderful, DRY, sunny week!Thoughts are with you!

Tangled Tidbits -
*spiral Verve center (like Amy's!), thick and thin lines, straighter and more curved lines
*Mooka- like Flux



From Jody Genovese, CZT (New York) ~

I hope that you and your family have come through the hurricane safely. We were not affected here in NY. I cannot even imagine how frightening it must have been and I have been sending prayers and lots of light and love to you and all in the Southeast affected by this.
Because this was on my mind I modeled my H string after hurricane and my PIB’s are riding the wave of verve trying to hold on to their pearls. I think I had only done verve once before, but right now it is my new favorite. That changes just about weekly, but it is currently topping the charts.

Tangled Tidbits -
*multi-lined Verve - shading makes it shine
*delicate and detailed PIB


From Trudi (Woodview, Ontario, Canada) ~

Hope you were OK during the storm I was in Las Vegas with my girlfriend's from high school and at one of the shows we sat with a couple from Florida who kept checking their video at home saying everything was still in place.
Just got home today so I'm a bit late doing my Tangle. I'm sorry the picture quality isn't that good.

Tangled Tidbits ~
*PIB lined string complete with soft green accents
*softly shaded Flux



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

You, your family and the thousands of others, who have been battered by Hurricane Matthew, have been uppermost in my mind all week. Watched CNN in fear. Truly hope that you are safe, unscathed and that the might of the hurricane is weakening or hopefully over. It’s an experience that we in SA do not know and can only image the horror of it.
Tile 165 this week became strangely appropriate. The String H (Hanny and Hurricane), Verve swirling, stormy clouds with menacing eyes, Flux reminded of the trees and plants. Finally, PIB by Hanny Waldburger a beautiful, peaceful, joyous pattern. With these thoughts, my tile symbolizes the storm clouds, the swirling relentless winds and rain, the menacing eyes, battering sea and land (Hurricane Matthew) striking fear into hearts. Fortunately, Nature eventually stills the storm. Life resumes, trees and plants grow again – Flux. Those who are sad and suffering can look up and PIB bring hope, love, sunshine and joy once more. I was tempted to colour in the jewels, but decides shading is a stronger option in this scenario.

Tangled Tidbits -
Thank you, Felicity for that wonderful visual and comforting words.
*Flux plumes accented with perfs - a repeated shape in all three tangles
*PIB, elegantly shaded, hugs the string line



From Lucy Banta, CZT (New Jersey) and here on her blog ~

first, I hope you are safe and survived Hurricane Matthew. I was thinking about you as the wind and rain pummeled Florida.Second, I'm attaching my IaST challenge...

Tangled Tidbits -
*interlaced Flux and Verve
*dark sparkled centers of Verve collect in the bottom corner



From Sharyn Penna (Massachusetts) ~

Thought and prayers go out to all who were caught in Hurricane Matthew's path.
It was a huge honor to have a featured tile ... there were so many tiles I'd have chosen over mine. Your prompts are an inspiration. Each week builds on the previous week, in how I think and approach a new tile. I think we all just absorb each other's works.
PIB is such a fun tangle filled with possibilities and played so well with Flux and Verve. Oh, it's going to be a wonderful tile viewing week at IAST!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*aura and shading around a double sided PIB adds a layered dimension

*dark, sparkled Verve cetners pop from behind a field of Flux

From Jenny Hopkins (Australia) ~

This comes with much love and prayers and hope that you and your loved ones have faired the hurricane reasonably well. I think the image you posted last week of the blue sky as you waited for the storm that you knew was coming, made it so much more personal for the rest of us. I have certainly been glued to the reports that have come our way and our hearts go out to those whose lives have been touched by the devastation left in its wake. May God give each one the strength they need to deal with what they now face.
Here is my contribution to this week's challenge. I just couldn't get it to all work for me but I learnt lots along the way.

 Tangled Tidbits -
*two pretty variations of PIB
*three swirled lines for each Verve create and intricate labyrinth




From Aloyna Pakhomova and sons (Toronto, Canada) ~

This time I am sending tiles of all three of us - the full set. :)

Tangled Tidbits -
*swirled centers of Verve (our third sighting!)
*long flourishes for PIB

*clusters of Flux

*two variations of PIB

*large Verve - with a white center
*shading divides the tangles' spaces



From Jonsey (Saint Louis, Missouri) ~

This is my first tile using my new Inktense pencils, which have a steep learning curve, in my opinion. I'm pleased with the outcome.

Tangled Tidbits -
*wonderful hues to accent the tangles
*two colorful variations of PIB



From Marla Mendenhall (California) ~

What a tangle-rific time this week. A fluid string, three patterns of expansive potential. And yet, initial brain breeze, until I just "let go". And then I was barely able to stop. In fact, I got so caught up in the flow of lines and shapes that in Tile 2 PiB kept expanding (I had to force myself to stop "adding") and the Flux petals grew and grew until I realized I had nowhere left to draw Verve. And then the Ah-Ha moment: Why not as gems in the PiB? I LOVE when that happens.

 Tangled Tidbits -
*alternating aura of Verve - notice the one on the left with two layers of swirls
*a Flux blossom complete with shadowed shading
*mirrored PIB

*billowing Fulx
*Verve filled PIB - I do hope Hanny sees that!


And now...

the tiles for honors this week...

were sent in by...

Gabriela Garcia (Alberta, Canada) ~

Hello everyone. Greetings from Canada. It is starting to get a little bit cold and rainy, perfect weather to take some time and draw with a coffee mug next to me ;-) ...I enjoyed this challenge so much that ended up drawing two tiles. I couldn't decide which to pick, so I am sending both of them :-).As always, Thank you Adele for bringing so much fun to us, not only we get to play with old and new tangles (like PIB, which was new to me, and I found it incredibly beautiful) but we also get inspired every Tuesday with everyone's tiles and their take on them.

 Tangled Tidbits -
*sparkle, shading, highlights, and just a touch of coloring
*ribbon-like swirls of the large PIB
*Flux flows into Verve and back into Flux - beautiful morphing of them

*Verve flows into Flux to one side
*pearls of PIB repeat in Verve and Tipple


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

A huge thank you to all of the contributors to this week's challenge.
Please know that I appreciate and treasure your kindnesses and encouragements. 

Many thanks to the creative minds behind the tangles we used this week:


PIB by Hanny Waldburger, CZT

Flux by Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts, Zentangle® founders

Verve by JJ LaBarbera


Check back Tuesday afternoon for "It's a String Thing" #166!