Tickled To Tangle: "It's a String Thing" #263 Tiles

Christopher Columbus, sailing ships, and the ocean blue were on our minds for this week's challenge.

We also welcome three new tanglers to our IAST community, including one gentleman from Christopher Columbus' homeland.

Could Christopher, so many centuries ago, ever have imagined that his heroic voyages would be honored in such glorious ways through an art form called Zentangle® by artists from around the world?!

Enjoy the show of tiles and notes sans my Tangled Tidbits. I thought it best to stay on track and publish the results as quickly as possible before the next challenge.

The first tile arrived from Anselm (Germany) and here on his blog ~

We are having a national holiday in Germany. The weather is mixed here in berlin: Rain and sun changing within minutes with a lot of wind. The weather inspired me for this tile. An Ahh-sun shining on a Sails which is blown across the tile by Msst, riding on a variation of Kettling waves. Finally i added some shading and a border to the tile. What an inspiring task, this week. Thank you.
The tile can be found at my blog
Best from the (at the moment sunny) Berlin

From Sue Leslie, CZT (New Mexico) ~

AHH an old favorite mixed with a couple of new tangles for a cool fall day with time to play. Thanks for a fun string and interesting combos of tangles as always. You come up with some great things for us to play with. Enjoy seeing what everyone else does every week, so much fun with all the variations. Here’s to a great week for you and all the tanglers on this adventure together every week.

From Sally Whiteman (New Zealand) ~

Kettling was new to me but it was nice tangle Sails again. It has been a long time since I used Sails and I had forgotten how much I enjoyed it.
Thanks again for all your hard work

From AmyL (Connecticut) ~

Here’s my tile of the week. I’m not s big fan of grid tangles, so sails was a challenge, but I found kettling surprisingly soothing, so ended up using more than expected. I also have a tendency to fill every bit of my tile, but I decided to go outside my comfort zone because it seemed done. Thanks for another great challenge!

From Shirley Wohlsen (Queensland, Australia) ~

Attached is my tile for ‘It’s A String Thing #263’ Challenge.

From Baafke (The Netherlands) ~

In this troubled world it is indeed so important to stay positive and enjoy the beautiful moments in life (like tangling)
Have fun this week!

A very warm welcome to Joanne from New Brunswick, Canada ~

I'm new at this...hope I'm on the right track. So glad I've found your blog :) Here is my very first submission!

Welcome to our Tangled Map, Joanne, and to our IAST community!

From Ria Matheussen, CZT (Belgium), creator of Kettling ~

I hope you have enjoyed a nice festivity week together with your
family. (We don't have a Colombus day and neither a Thanksgivingday)
It was a nice surprise to see popping up my new pattern Kettling on
this challenge. Thank you very much and I'm honoured with the compliment!
By this way, I wanna thank everyone who joined the challenge and hope
this lovely composition has given fun.
As always, I'm very curious to see the other results. Mine is made on a
white tile with a black and green pen, an ordinary pencil and a white
gellypen.
Warm regards from Belgium and wish you all the best

From Lisette (Switzerland) ~

Kettling is a great new pattern, Sails an old friend and then I confused Ahh with CO2. When I read which tangles we should use the enclosed tile appeared in my mind and I didn’t bother to look up the step outs. When I realised my “mistake” it was already too late. But I think my tile looks good - I set sails :-).

From Gudrun (Germany) ~

here is my entry to your challenge 263: Kettling connects Sails.
The fingers did not quite want to draw what the head pretended ........
Sunny autumn greetings from Germany

From Ragged Ray (United Kingdom) ~

Earlier this week our washing machine broke down. Dirty water flooded out, mopped up by large numbers of towels which we then couldn't launder! A new machine was promptly ordered but then it was tricky to arrange installation as the local water company turned mains water off in our area for 3 hours today for routine maintenance. But thankfully the new machine is now in. A wash has been run. And I'm feeling more grateful than ever for the luxury of running water and powered washing facilities!
And finally a little time to calm myself from the frenzy of the week - what better way than with your challenge. With the watery string line and this tissue dyed tile I reconnected with the wonder of water and started to see my tile as if it were a helix of DNA - the genetic code of an uncharted ocean perhaps.
Anyway, thank you for listening, thank you for the challenge

From Margarete Gilge (Germany) and here on her blog ~

the combination of your suggested patterns in connection with your string pushed me into a maritime situation. So on the waves a sailboat had to swim in the bright sunshine, surrounded by gulls. Again you can find another version on my blog under the link... Maybe the idea is a bit silly or childish, but I enjoyed to draw your challenge. Thank you for your idea and your commitment!
A nice weekend for you and your family!
Greetings from Germany

From Hilary (Chicago) ~

Here are my tangles for this week. I had what I thought was a brilliant idea of combining Kettling and Sails where the lines would seamlessly flow together. It didn’t happen. I tried a few versions of this, but I just couldn’t pull it off. I kept losing my direction while doing Sails. The first picture is that one. ( I have more, but I’m not sending them!)
The second version is just Sails done on a grid with Kettling on top of it.
I’m not happy with either one, but it was a good experience. I can’t wait to see everyone's beautiful work.

From JoAnne (Ontario, Canada) ~

Here is my take on the latest challenge. Lots of Fun! #IAST263. With Inktober going on, I really had to plan my tangling time wisely!

From Nor'dzin (Wales, United Kingdom) ~

Congratulations on your celebrations. Happy birthday to Isabelle, and good wishes for the safe arrival of your grandchild. My son and his wife are expecting their second child in December. I think grandmother duties may increase somewhat then.
Nice tangles this challenge. Kettling was new for me, and I really like it.

From Susie (Thialand) ~

It is Saturday here, but your deadline's still hours away. So I am really happy I am able to send you in time (!) my tile, which I aptly call "The Rising Sun" for your IAST #263 challenge.
Thanks so much for yet again a challenge I thoroughly enjoyed drawing.
With love and much appreciation
Susie (Thailand or way in the East where the sun rises)

From Marjan Heemskerk (The Netherlands) ~

What a wonderful challenge! Ships are Sailing and Ahh gives a glittering in the Kettling waves.
An after summer party!

From Maike (Germany) ~

Attached is my tile for your IAST #263 challenge. It was difficult for me to combine the three patterns. But I like the way it turned out. I‘m looking forward to see all the other tiles.
Greetings from Germany

From Susan (United Kingdom) ~

Thank you for featuring me in “Where I Tangle”. I was on holiday in Nova Scotia when it was published, so it was nice to see pictures of home! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in Canada. Enjoy the celebration tiles.

From Jane (Surrey, United Kingdom) ~

...Another busy week for me but always try to find time to tangle! Not tangles I would normally use so your challenges are good for this reason, a way to try something different!

From VenaC (Whitby, Ontario, Canada) ~

Where does the time go? Your challenge, Adele, is the only tangling I do and then I always have to rush to finish on Saturday morning. Enjoyed the tangles. Ahh was the only one I had done before. This has turned out a bit top heavy. I had thought of putting Sails at the bottom but then my chop would have been upside down so I left it this way up.

From Sharyn Penna, CZT (Massachusetts) ~

Happy birthday to your daughter, and happy birthing anniversary to you! (We always forget the mom’s energy that make all the birthdays possible!)
Fun tangles, but after drawing Kettling I had a major head scratch trying to figure out where to fit in Sails. Not exactly a zen moment!
A little wordplay here ... glad you chose Sails ... Major League Baseball playoffs began Friday. Boston Red Sox pitcher, Chris Sale was key for the win against the NY Yankees Friday night. Not saying that Sails influenced Sale, but kismet was in the cosmos!
Cheers to Ria’s Kettling, to kismet, and cheers to you!

From Ingrid (The Netherlands) ~

Thank you for this nice challenge.
Have a blessed week,
with much love

A very warm welcome to Nadina from Germany ~

my name is Nadina. I am 13 years old and I am living in Germany. Last year my mother showed your wonderfull challenge to me. I love your challenge. And now I am trying to send you my first "String Thing". It was fun to draw it, and then I decided to turn it up side down.

Welcome to our IAST community, Nadina, and welcome to our Tangled Map ~
It is a gift that you and your mom can tangle together.

From Lin H, CZT (Florida) ~

Autumn colors were calling to me this week, Adele. Ria Matheussen’s Kettling was a new tangle for me and I like how versatile it is as a border tangle. Happy Thanksgiving to those in Canada and looking forward to a picture of your newest granddaughter, too!

From Ulrike (Germany) ~

...here is my tile for IAST #263. Thank you for a interesting challenge, I've learned new patterns again.
Best regards from Germany.

From Allison Armstrong (California) ~

Hi Adele from sunny California,
When I first saw this string all I could think of was the ocean which I got to drink in at the beginning of this week, coming back from Santa Cruz and spending time with Rick and Maria at 1440. This was so much fun to do. The only extra Tangle I used was Sea Wave of course.

From Lynn F (Florida) ~

Hallelujah we actually had somewhat cooler temperatures this week. The early morning and evening hours have been so pleasant.
Here is my tile for this week’s challenge. I love Kettling so I used it twice.
I can’t wait to see everyone’s tiles.

From Lynn G (Florida) ~

Thank you, Adele

From Sharon Fite (California) ~

"Ocean blue" came through loud and clear for me. The string and tangles remind me of our favorite West Coast vacation spot, Santa Cruz. Every Wednesday night during fair weather, there's a sailboat regatta beginning at 5:00pm. It is so much fun watching the sailboats coming out of the harbor and sailing around Monterey Bay, while surfers get in some last rides. I added Frunky and Printemps to the 3 suggested tangles, then watercolor with my Koi Pocket Field Sketch Box. Not exactly abstract, and it has a definite orientation, but it brings back very fond memories for me. Happy holidays to those celebrating!

From Dolly Bolen, CZT 15 (Alberta, Canada) ~

I am happy to report that I am on time with my “Autumn Splendour” Zendala! I stained the tile with tissue paper, then drew the string in pencil to accentuate the areas that were coloured by tissue paper. I was out running today in a park surrounded by the falling leaves in abundance, fall colours radiating how gorgeous the season is at this time in Alberta so I am sure this is where my mind went while tangling tonight. This is the first time I tangled Kettling and Sails, both were fun to try and I put my own flavour into each of them, Sails reminds me of those corn snacks - bugles. I included a tangleation of Twiggy instead of Ahh because it just fit. There are two sides to everything including the world, two points of view, right side up and upside down, each side is individual. We need our individuality so we can decide for ourselves how we want to view the world, our art and that includes Zentangle. It is our choice to decide...Love that sparkle, it could be a sunset or sunrise, two times of day, two spectacular opportunities to see amazing colours in nature. Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadians! 🇨🇦 I am thankful for all that is good and all the positivity in the world, including your blog Adele, this is a weekly celebration I enjoy!️

From Susie (St. Louis, Missouri) ~

From Judy Wanner, CZT (Pennsylvania) ~

No rhyme or reason to Sails. I started with a wonky grid and my pen took over....no planning. Think I would do two things differently next time........Sails and not tangle at 3:00 a.m

And look what Judy did to a cardboard take out drink holder. Isn't that fabulous - a new way to recycle!

From Susan Theron (Velddrif, South Africa) ~

From Felicity Strohfeldt (Velddrif, South Africa) ~

Here we have experienced an October heatwave for the past week. Temperatures in the high 30’s. Very unusual for this time of year. Seems Nature is still experimenting with change. Water situation is much better, but I believe we will have to learn to conserve at all costs for the future. Water and man are a delicate balance, as the recent situation has proved.
Anyway, to history. How brave explorers like Columbus were, plying the dangerous stormy seas in flimsy wooden sailing ships. Brave captains and crews out to find the new world.
So fitting to celebrate them this week with your challenge. My first thought was that they only had sails and the wind to propel them on often raging water. I knew Kettling would be my waves, and Sails would be sails bobbing up and down between the waves , navigating the journey by the Ahh star. Irregular grids are my nemesis, so it’s Hmm on the result, but I had fun with these tangles Thanks to Ria, Helen, Maria and Rick.
Have great week all.

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

Though your string seemed simple it became a challenge for me! But I love the patterns you choose which made me go for it anyway! In the end I liked what came out! More comments in my blog...
Thank you for doing this challenge for us, I have learned a lot following them!

A very warm welcome to Antoy Visconti from Milan, Italy ~

so pleased to have found your Blog.
I discovered Zentangle this summer and fell in love straight away.
Here's my first attempt at It's a String Thing.
Many thanks

Welcome to our Tangled Map and to our IAST community, Antony!

From Lori Byerly (Washington State) and here on her website ~

Thanks for the opportunity to try kettling (a new-to-me pattern). Oh, and congrats on the grandkids. They are always such a lovely gift. I have five and they are a joy to me.