Saturday, March 11, 2017

"It's a String Thing" #186 Tiles

"Good things come to those who wait" as the saying goes, especially when it come to pie - and Pi!

We saluted Pi with a string shaped like it along with some PIE inspired tangles.

Let's take in all the 'good things' packed into the tiles for this past week's IAST.
(Read on to see Vonnie Schneider's new definition of IAST - you'll love it!)

The first tile was sent in by Lily Moon (Hungary) and here on her blog ~
...here is my tile for your National Pi Day challenge.
I used Micron pens, Polychromos pencils, Staedtler pens, white gellyroll pen and graphite pencil in this tile.
Tangled Tidbits - 
*Wacho layers, white dotted, and shaded for depth 
*beautiful shades of blue for W2 - love the 'stitching'


From Trudi (Woodview, Ontario, Canada) ~
Wacho is a fun new Tangle (to me) thank you for introducing me to it. I have always loved W2 I don't know why it doesn't photograph the shadows well. Thanks again for doing this for us.
Tangled Tidbits -
*Wacho filled string section, touches of gold shared with Pokeleaf
*dense weave of W2


From Hilary Merola (Rome, Italy) ~
Greetings from Rome!
I decided to use a notebook page which I'd painted a few weeks ago; it looks like I was thinking of Easter with these pastel shades. Today I'm having my pie with cherries only, no crust! The real reason—my attempts at W2 are completely dreadful. I like Huggins as a substitute, but decided not to use it this time.As always, I'm looking forward to seeing all the variations on this fun project.
Tangled Tidbits -
*lovely variation of Wacho created with aura - notice the effect in the mirrored rows
*pops of Pokeroot and Pokeleaf



From Shirley Wohlsen (Queensland, Australia) ~
I had not heard of PI Day, learn something new every day.
Delighted to participate in your It’s A String Thing # 186 Challenge, the patterns were fun.
Attached is my piece of Pie. Thanks Adele.
 Tangled Tidbits -
*sweet swirls accent Wacho
*Pi accents, lines, and shading decorate W2



From Renee (Tennessee) and on her Instagram ~
Tangled Tidbits -
*wonderful Wacho includes weighted lines, repeating dots and arcs, and stipple
*Pokeroot bubbles up and over W2


A very warm welcome to Veena (Redmond, Washington State) and here on her blog ~
I would like you thank you for your blog and for 'It's a String Thing'. I discovered these recently. I haven't Zentangled much and am relatively new, but I am learning so much everyday. I love your challenges as it forces me to find ways to make specific tangles work together. This is my first submission (attached). I look forward to many more challenges :)
Tangled Tidbits -
*long lined Pokeroot with deep black background - lovely lines repeat in the W2 accent
*mirrored, alternating Wacho
Welcome, Veena and welcome to our tangled map ~


From Barbara (Germany) ~
I don't like mathematics but Pi is a wonderful piece of the science-cake.
And here is my bit of "Pi":
A hard chunk for me, but crispy and yummy!Thank you for this new challenge.
Tangled Tidbits -
*very 'yummy' tangles and shading
*Pokeroot makes its way from opposite corners into and through W2 and Wacho


From Gabriela Garcia (Alberta, Canada) and here on her blog ~
I really enjoyed drawing this tile! Pokeroot and W2 are part of the first patterns that I learned and I got me hooked in Zentangle. Wacho on the other hand, was a new pattern for me and at the beginning I couldn't decide where to add it to my tile, then I remember seeing drawings where "parts" of patterns are added inside of others, so I thought it would be fun to add Wacho's triangular part in vertical sections of W2 and the wavy part in some of the horizontal sections. Something a bit different and fun. Thank you Adele for another great challenge!Greetings from Canada ;-)
Tangled Tidbits -
*masterful mashing of the tangles - breaking Wacho into parts to accent W2, how fun!
*mouthwatering Pokeroot cherries


From Vonnie Schneider (St. Paul, Minnesota) and here in new Flickr Album ~
Happy March! Thank you for the fun challenge once again. I have decided that IAST actually means "I'm Addicted to Strings & Tangles!" I started tangling all of the past challenges and have finished the entire Year One in 4 weeks time! I have created a Flickr Album
Looking forward to next week's challenge, as my birthday is on the 10th.
Tangled Tidbits -
Happy Birthday and congratulations on concentrating so much time on tangling.  I am thrilled that IAST has helped so much and I LOVE your new IAST interpretation.  Thank you for that as I will be using it ♥
*Polka dotted Pokeroot
*Wacho floats along the string curves and over W2


From sra (India) ~
When I saw the string for this week's challenge, I was initially disappointed. It was the same string I had done a year ago, with almost all the same tangles. Checking Adele's blog confirmed that and for a couple of minutes I sat in a funk, wondering how to do it differently. Then I realised that that was the very first IAST challenge I had participated in, when I was three months old at Zentangle!
My repertoire of knowledge and supplies has expanded a little since then and now includes an 8B pencil. I also wanted to do a pencil tangle background on which other tangles stand out, so the W2 went in as background, with a softer pencil. I wish I'd been able to get a better weave effect but I'm pleased with how the pi shape turned out, shading et al. I didn't consult my last year's tile but now that I see it, I realise I'd done a similar thing. Only, this year's is much better. I put the other tangle around the border and am pleased with the shading even though the border is a little uneven.Here's the link to my previous pi string
Tangled Tidbits -
Congratulations for a great year of tangling and the expertise you've gained in that time - cheers to you!
*shaded border and shaded W2
*single line of Pokeroot accents the string lines with lovely aura and shading



From Susan (United Kingdom) ~
Here is my lemon pi/pie. I loved the bright yellow from Shirley in Queensland last week so thought I would liven up my pie.
Tangled Tidbits -
*luscious lemon yellow accents W2 and fills the string spaces
*Pokroot flows along the string lines and accents the outer rim

Is anyone else getting hungry?!


From Joke Leussenkamp (The Netherlands) ~
It's obvious which pattern is my favorite, but with W2 I keep having my difficulties.Never the less it was fun participating in this challenge!

Tangled Tidbits -
*a circle of Pokeroot behind the Pi string
*Wacho variation features aura, detail lines in each arc, and darkened center triangles


From Emily Shelton (Kentucky) and here on her blog ~
So glad I didn't try this on a mendala tile or a 3-sided tile because we all know...
πr2!!
In addition to Pokeroot, Wacho and W2, I used Siri by Simone Menzell.
Tangled Tidbits - 
*curved grid of W2 flows from a string line, breaks into smaller lines as it meets Pokeroot
*pleasing balance of light and dark spaces and a pretty pop of red


From Lori Byerly (Washington State) and here on her blog ~
What a fun thing to celebrate - National Pi Day. I think I will have to bake some pies (any excuse to have pie, right?).
Tangled Tidbits -
*bitty triangles from Wacho dot W2
*jagged accent lines bring to mind warm, flaky crust (now I am really hungry!)


From Lovelygiraffe (Japan) and on her Instagram ~
here is my tile for your weekly challenge.It was a very fun challenge this time as well.
Tangled Tidbits -
*starbursts of Pokeroot - deep background adds wonderful depth
*Pokeroot and Wacho decorate W2


From Karen, The Creative Miss L (Canberra, Australia) and here on her blog ~
It was a trip down memory lane for me with this week’s challenge as I participated in a similar challenge you set this time last year. This year, however, I have not got my Poke Root and Poke Leaf mixed up.
I’ve used an Opus tile for this challenge. I added Poke Leaf and Finery to the W2, Poke Root and Wacho that you suggested. The colours are all Kaiser Spray Mists in various shades. I used the Mists as a traditional spray as well as using them as paint to intensify the colours in some parts of the tile. I also used a graphite pencil, a white wax pencil and a white gel pen. This tile took me hours to complete today. Very Zen.I’ve attached the final tile as well as the tile before I started to shade and add extra colour.

Tangled Tidbits -
Thank you for the description of your process - so inspirational for those of us who may give it a similar try, especially on an Opus tile.
*one Pi string line, one Wacho with curls, and one a beautiful blend of the two
*center blanket of W2 with airy tangles flowing from either side



From Lisette (Switzerland) ~
Hi everybody
I tried to make friends with Wacho (emphasis of tried). A pattern which left me helpless - I didn’t know what to do with it. Therefore I’m so excited to discover what you did with it. Maybe I’ll discover another approach to Wacho and one day be good friends :-). This is actually what happened to me with Mooka. I didn’t like it in the beginning, then discovered another way how to draw it - and now it’s one of my favorites!
Thank you, Adele, for this Pi-challenge. I like Pi - endless, never repeating - like life.
Last week we received little kisses from Spring which I forward to those who are still stuck in Winter!
Tangled Tidbits -
..."endless, never reating", just like life, yes!  I am confident you will become well acquainted with Wacho with all of these creative examples.
*Betweed decorated W2
*Pokeroot and Wacho flow from W2



From Susie (Thailand) ~
Thanks so much for yet another great challenge (and headache, well, slight headache). This week was not so ‘satisfactorily’ for me. I drew 3 tiles, each time thinking I found a solution for wacho to fit in gracefully, but wacho just isn’t  a graceful pattern ‘to fit in’ (for me!). Then Sat evening arrived and I was saved from attempting a 4th tile. Thank heavens.
Now I am looking forward to IAST 187. Bring it on, girl.
 Tangled Tidbits -
Your note brought a smile to my face, as did your tile!
*irregular spaces for the weave of W2 - how fun - Beadline accents and deep shading, too.
*plump rounds of Wacho mirror Pokerook and blues carry through both


From Michele Wynne (California) and here on her blog ~
Here's my contribution to the Pi Challenge. I have to admit this one vexed me for a bit. I tracked my process on my blog and I'm very pleased with the way it came out after comingthisclose to chucking the thing;-)
I want to thank you for these challenges that yank me out of comfort zone. You Rock!
Tangled Tidbits -
You rock!  Your post is a testament to the process of tangling and what stick-to-it-tiveness (let's pretend that's a word) does for it - your fabulous tile is proof positive.
*multi-layered arua and white dots make Wacho shine
*stems of Pokeroot flow from lines of W2



From Jennifer Moor (Switzerland) ~
Here's to Pi Day and pies - I've always had a soft spot for them. I was hoping I could fill your string with a delicious pie filling but it was not to be. My finished tile reminds me more of formulas written on chalkboards!
Tangled Tidbits -
*single file W2 along the sting lines do bring back wonderful chalkboard memories :)
*Wacho corners topped with clusters of Pokeroot



From Patricia (Switzerland) ~
The week seems to have flown by! I tried to w2 but had a kind of block there! That is why I chose Cadent instead. Wacho is fun and I love poke root. Thanks for the new challenge.
Tangled Tidbits -
*Pokeroot curls out from either side of the middle string section
*layered triangles of Wacho


From Tonia Croce (Rhode Island) ~
I used micron .01 & .08 black pens and 2H pencil for shading on the Pokeroot. Was a little intimidated by W2, but enjoyed using it! Great idea for a challenge
Tangled Tidbits -
*doubled string lines filled with tangles and black background
*softly curved grid for W2


From Ingrid (The Netherlands) ~
Here is my tile IAST # 186 for this week.
Tangled Tidbits - 
*splendid variation of Wacho includes shaded, white, and black inner aura
*plump, cascading, softly shaded Pokeroot


From Linda Goncalves (Pennsylvania) ~
This was fun! I loved the idea of pi and pie. I added Blink by Beth Snoderly because it looked like and infinity sign to me and I thought it would be both a good "crust" for my pie and a good place to fit in Wacho.

Tangled Tidbits -
*the tangles make for a 'delicious' pie/Pi
*Pokeroot pops against smaller W2


From Tina Kirchhübel (Germany) and here on her blog ~
I didn't expect that this week is already the Pi-challenge but yeah!!! I love it because I love Pi. It's such a fascinating number. I know 40 digits of it by heart.
And because Pi is the number for calculating circles and because I missed to draw the challenge on a round Zendala tile last year I absolutely wanted to do this this year. And then you talked about Pie. And the pie is round, too, isn't it? So I tried to tangle a yummy W2-Pie garnished with Pokeroot-fruits and decorated with a Pi full of Wacho. Bon appetit!
Greetings from Germany
Tangled Tidbits -
*Pokeroot rimmed zendala pie
*doubled string lines filled with bold Wacho agaist a field of W2 - yum!

I just may have to take my lunch break now...


From Jody Genovese, CZT (New York) ~
Greetings from NY. Here is my tile for this week...
Tangled Tidbits -
*a sprinkling of delicious dark cherry Pokeroot
*Wacho rimmed Pi - notice the thin aura followed by a wider one then joined by lines and softly shaded


A very warm welcome to Sophie from Tennesee ~
I hope it is not too late for me to send in my submission. I have just discovered your site and was motivated to participate.
Tangled Tidbits -
*weighted aura lines around the tangles
*string left softly shaded and the tangles fill the surrounding spaces
Sophie is officially on our map, welcome!


From Susie (St. Louis, Missouri) ~
I didn't include Wacho because I just couldn't find a place where I liked it.
Also, I signed my tile upside down! I think I'm having a wacho week.
Tangled Tidbits -
*Pokeroot floats upward
*slanted W2 grid


From Beth Gaughan (North Carolina) ~
Here is my tile for pie/pi day. I added Raindotty, I think of it as the steam vents in the crust.
Tangled Tidbits -
*steamy Raindotty - great addition
*two sizes of Wacho trim W2


From Sue Agnew (Tucson, Arizona) ~
Here is challenge #186.
W2 is a favorite of mine. There are certain tangles I think of as "magic tangles" because you're just tangling away minding your own business and suddenly you add one more thing and it magically becomes 3-D. W2 is one of those ... some other examples are Cubine, Dex, Puf, and Paradox, but there's lots more. I also love W2 because right after I took my first Zentangle class I visited my sister and we spent the entire 2 weeks tangling ... and W2 was one of the tangles we played with a lot. She put an element from another tangle on each "crossover," so I stole that idea for this challenge. I think last time we used Pokeroot I told you of my quandary, which is that I like the way other people do it better than I like the way I do it. This time I didn't feel that way (yay)! And because there wasn't much space in the "crossovers" for Wacho, I simplified it, and made it 3-D because everything else is.
In closing, I'm going to steal Candie VanderWilt's sentiment from last week: thanks for continued excellence in the tangle-blog world!
Tangled Tidbits -
Thank you, Sue, and thank you for your description of the magic of tangles unfolding - so true, and so well said.
*W2 from border to border
*alternating Pokeroot and Wacho follow the line of the string


From Sharyn Penna (Massachusetts) ~
Loved the prompt ... my tile's background took me out of my comfort zone.
Cheers to Pi Day tiles ... and pies of all sorts ... savory, sweet, turnovers, pasties, and crisp cinnamony cookies made from the dough scraps.
Tangled Tidbits -
Yes, for four generations now we've been making those yummy cinnamon cookies from the dough scraps - so delicious!
*Wacho flows from W2
*deep black background accents Pokeroot and ties in the darker spaces of W2 and Wacho
...and what a great frame :)


From Talia Maynard (London, United Kingdom) ~
Hope you've had a lovely week. The sun is finally beginning to make an appearance in the UK this week so hopefully that means spring is on its way.
I enjoyed this challenge, especially trying to make it different from the same string last year. Pokeroot just makes me think of cherries on the pie so I couldn't resist colouring them red.
Tangled Tidbits -
*Pokeroot Pi with aura (a la mode!)
*two sizes of W2 and shaded background for free floating Wacho and spirals


From Felicity Strohfeldt (Velddrif, South Africa) and here on her blog ~
This week we celebrated Pi. Pi, that is the ratio of the circumference of any circle to the diameter of that circle; regardless of the size of the circle this ratio will always equal Pi. The homophone for Pi is Pie. In all cultures pies are yummy, so we celebrate all the yummy pies throughout the world with this week’s tiles Looking at what transpired on my tile, I see Pokeroot by Maria Thomas and they seem to represent all the lush berries in the world that are used to create tasty, berry pies. W2 by Maria Thomas and Wacho by Livia Chua form a gateway to the fields of gorgeous berries waiting to be harvested to bake all those pies. The Pi symbol can also pass for J and C – Joyful Creation – my tangle experience this week. Hope you all are lucky to enjoy scrumptious pies during these celebrations.
Tangled Tidbits -
After reading your wonderful words, pie will be on everyone's menu today!
*Pokeroot sprouts from W2 and weaves over and under the doubled string, giving it instant dimension
*double aura for Wacho and yummy Tipple


A very warm welcome to Carina (Germany) and here on her website ~
Sorry, I'm a little late. It's the first time that I take part in a tangle adventure like this...
I hope you like my interpretation. I took Pokeroot as basic and added Wacho an W2 as "flowers".
Greetings from Germany

Tangled Tidbits -
*Pokeroot covered string lines are 'grounded' in Tipple
*Wacho and W2 blooms - so creative!
Welcome to IAST, Carina, and welcome to our tangled map ~



From Jane (Boulder, Colorado) ~
So sorry for the late entry! but I did want to get my IAST Pi day to you...my younger son is studying for a PhD in Statistics at UNC Chapel Hill, so we are very well acquainted with Pi day around here...and all things numbers!
Went very "pie" basic...W2 for the crust and a touch of some Pokeroot for the filling...tried to fit in some Wacho but couldn't make it work (this is actually my 3rd or maybe even 4th attempt...I know, no mistakes, but every time I really wasn't happy with what was happening, so I started again...and again...and again!!) Worked on a watercolored paper (as of late, my usual go-to) and added a touch more pink for the cherries... didn't look at last year's version, but I imagine it's something similar--:)
I'll keep it short...Have a great week...and as always, thanks for all you do!
Tangled Tidbits - 
Note to tanglers:  Save your attempts - when you revisit them at a later time, you will find beauty and possibility in them and turn them into something unexpectedly satisfying to create.
*pink Pokeroot fills the center string space - complimenting the white space above
*edges of W2 fade gently



From Rebecca Isenstein (Connecticut) ~
A little late with this one, apologies, but hopefully I'm in squeezing in under the wire! ;-)
Tangled Tidbits - 
*tangles come alive on the Renaissance tile, especially with the brown
*highlights make Wacho glow


From Brenda Urbanik, CZT (South Africa) and here on her blog ~
Here is my tile for this weeks' challenge. Not entirely happy but it's the best I could do with the current business at home and in my head!!
Tangled Tidbits -
*fine, sparkled lines in W2
*wonderful Wacho border - great contrast


From Vicki Mitchell, CZT 25 (Moscow, Idaho) ~
 Tangled Tidbits -
*rows of Wacho
*puffy Pokeroot
*Wacho filled double string lines
*Pokeroot flows upward


From Sharon Fite (California) ~
It must be kismet! My pi tile was done, but my internet was down from Saturday until late yesterday. I thought, well, I missed that IAST. So frustrating! But, no! I'm happy you were having fun and glad to still be able to send in my tile. It was a bit of a challenge all the way around! In addition to the pie tangles, I added Bubbles to represent the circle in the equation.
Happy anniversary!
Tangled Tidbits -
Lori will be happy to see Bublz!
*awesome aura-ed Wacho
*soft shading throughout


From Jutta Gladnigg (NRW, Germany) ~
Dear Adele, happy anniversary to you and you husband!!!!
Tangled Tidbits -
*deep shading, lovely layered effect
*creative Wacho variation - black background and inner triangle, coupled with shading


From Val (Tucson, Arizona) ~
As a math teacher, I love the tribute to Pi Day! What fun Tangles to learn. Pie crust in a tangle is as difficult as the real thing for me!
Tangled Tidbits -
*wonderful, curvy lines of W2 tipped with Wacho
*detailed shading of Pokeroot covered string lines
...and kudos to you for teaching math, Val!


From Mariam G (Port Hueneme, California) ~
Thank you for extending the deadline on this one. Time got away from me last week, so this gave me the opportunity to 'stick my finger in the Pi', so to speak. :-)
Oh, and Happy Anniversary to you and your hubby - congrats on 33 years!

Tangled Tidbits -
Notice that Mariam is one of many tanglers who used Wacho along the top string line - and each and every one is different...more tangle magic!
*Pokeroot mixes happily with Wacho
*aura-ed Wacho finished with a weighted lined scalloped aura


From Kate (United Kingdom) ~
My contribution to this week's challenge - much later than usual!
I hope you enjoyed your family get-togethers - belated 'Happy
Anniversary' wishes!
Tangled Tidbits -
*creative Pokeroot/Wacho variation
*fanned, angled grid for W2



From Jonesy (St. Louis, Missouri) ~
...This is my late entry in IAST 186. I have been ill for days, and I was glad to see the extension u gave us. I put this together at the last minute, and I sure hope I made it in time. Happy Anniversary, and I hope u are enjoying yourself.
Tangled Tidbits -
*Wacho stack with a bit of Pokeroot, finished off with a fabulous set of shaded aura and sparkle
*Huggins filled Pokeroot - delightful details throughout




This is my tile ~
I began at the base of the string line with Pokeroot and worked it up and outward.  I crossed the Pi string with  Wacho, added a few larger Pokeroot, aura, and then filled W2 in the middle spaces.  A few lines of W2 ended up out of place, so I added more and repeated a similar detail to Wacho, tying it all together - definitely a creative opportunity :)


And now...

the tile for honors this week...

was sent in by...

Tonya Blankenship (Grundy, Virginia) ~
The string for this week was such a fun choice and the tangles provided an enjoyable challenge. In the past, I’ve always avoided the Pokeroot tangle because my initial attempts weren’t exactly up to par. I’m so happy this week’s challenge forced me to tackle it once again. After finding some tips online, I experienced an “A-ha” moment. This experience illustrates one of the reasons I adore this website—the challenges push me to improve skills that I normally would avoid. For one section of W2, I tried to weave the weave. And, I was inspired to fill Wacho with swirls instead of dots. I hope everyone is having a fantastic week!
Tangled Tidbits -
*two grid choices for W2 - one curved that ends in curled 'slats', the other radiates from the corner
*very unique look achieved by adding squares in the curved lines of W2, offset from those of the grid, and adding detail lines in a clockwise manner
*spiral topped Wacho with dark, sparkled aura free floating over a lightly penciled Printemps
*thicker, black aura of Pokeroot
*pretty Pokeroot shading

Congratulations, Tonya!

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


Thank you again for your patience as this post took a bit longer than expected to publish.

Thank you from Lou and me for all the good wishes for our anniversary, it has been a blessing to have these 33 years together and we are looking forward many, many more.


Special thanks to the creative minds behind the tangles we used this week along with my string:

Wacho by Livia Chau


Pokeroot and  W2  by Maria Thomas, Zentangle® co-founder


Enjoy your pie and
check back on Monday for the results of "It's a String Thing" #187!


2 comments:

  1. Beautiful inspiration everyone, I am always amazed!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, Adele, for the round-up. - Sra

    ReplyDelete