Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

"Winter is an etching,

 spring a watercolor, 

summer an oil painting

and autumn a mosaic of them all."

                                                                                                         - Stanley Horowitz

IAST #261 by Felicity Strohfeldt from South Africa

"It's a String Thing" #265

Please note:  If you missed the fabulous tiles for IAST#263 and/or IAST#264, click on their numbers to view.

It's Tuesday, your good news day!

It is also time for our annual nod to that deliciously sweet, marshmallow-y fall treat:  Candy Corn.
It is affectionately know here as Cannie Corns, so dubbed by my children in their toddler days.

In my new eBook, written with the fabulous Dorian Eng, I found that the Zentangle® 3z tiles were easy to adapt to Cannie Corns ~

Spooktacular Cannie Corn House by Adele Bruno, CZT

Full instructions for assembly and tangling can be found in
our new "Spooktacular Houses", a "Tiny Tangled Houses" eBook
(Order information can be found by clicking the book image to the right.)

There is something to the combination of colors, the shape, and certainly the taste, that has me hooked.

Over the last six Octobers since we've celebrated this particular challenge, I have noticed that the rest of the retail world is catching up with us.
More and more fall food, decorations, and fashions, feature images - and tastes - of candy corn.  This year has to be record setting.

Here are a few of my finds:

Candy...

Marshmallows...

Chocolates...

and cookies...

Beads for jewelry making...

a lamp complete with cord and light bulb...

Decorations on wreaths...

and can you guess what these are?

SOCKS!

One of my favorites finds was the design on the shirts I bought for my granddaughters ~

Let's join in the party and tangle our own tributes to this sweet treat.  We begin with this string ~

IAST String #265 by Adele Bruno, CZT

The tangles we will use include three by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas:

Bales

Msst

Printemps

Click here to view these and all of  Rick and Maria's tangles and links from around the web for step outs and instructions on TangleList.com. 

Keep in mind that while the string lines resemble candy corn, your end result does not necessarily have to look like any one thing in particular.  
On the other hand, Zentangle® Inspired Art can be representational, so please feel free to follow your inclination.  
Simply pencil the string line onto your tile and tangle away! 

Here are the (Not so) Official Guidelines:
* Challenges are posted on Tuesdays.
*Use the string posted for the week and some or all of the suggested patterns
* Submit a photo of your tile saved as jpg or scan your tile (300 dpi or higher) and save as a jpg
*Email your jpg file as an attachment to - brunoadelem@gmail.com
*Entries for IAST are to be submitted by Saturday evening of the week issued
*Photos, notes, and the 'Tile for Honors' are (usually) posted on the following Monday

Send in your photos - you will encourage and inspire fellow Zentangle® enthusiasts all over the world. WHEN YOU SIGN YOUR NAME, PLEASE INCLUDE WHERE YOU LIVE.
FOR EXAMPLE: ADELE BRUNO (FLORIDA)

PLEASE NOTE: It is not necessary for you to have a blog or website to participate.

If you do have a blog or website, I will add a link upon request.
Please include the site specific URL.

I look forward to your emails.

Enjoy!

"It's a String Thing" #264 Tiles

Please note:  The results of the last two challenges were posted together.  Click here if you missed viewing the tiles for IAST #263.

Thank you for thinking of us during the recent hurricane.  The storm and subsequent devastation occurred about 300 miles northwest of where we are here in central Florida. We were very fortunate to escape the worst of it.
It will be a long road for the many, many people the storm did effect, though...

For some uplifting news, in this challenge we used tangles that celebrated new life and a wonderful birthday - happy times!

The first tile arrived from Sally Whiteman (New Zealand) ~

Congratulations on your new granddaughter. I love her name.
Best wishes also to Isabella on her 20th birthday.
Attached is my tile for challenge 264. I didn't use B-leaf as I had enough going on in the tile.
Thank you

Thank you for all the good wishes, Sally.
Tangled Tidbit -
*both tangles finishes with curls and a touch of red


From Amy L (Connecticut) ~

Congrats on your new granddaughter and on Iza’s birthday! What a fun set of tangles. They were so leafy and organic that I decided to do a renaissance tile. Figuring out how best to shade them was a challenge, but what an enjoyable one! Mazel tov on the baby and the birthday!

Thank you, Amy!
Tangled Tidbit -
*wonderful bits of glowing white and highlights


From Joanne (New Brunswick, Canada) ~

Tangled Tidbit -
*striped and sparkled Iza and Heartswell


From Lin H, CZT (Florida) ~

First of all, congratulations on your new granddaughter. How wonderful your family continues to grow. Isabella must feel honored to have a challenge in honor of her 20th birthday. This was a fun challenge, Adele!

Thank you, Lin, Isabella was surprised and happy.
*pretty Iza variation - multicolored, sparkled, highlighted, and shaded


From  Dani (Indonesia) and here on her blog ~

This is for challenge #264. Welcome to the world baby Ada. And happy birthday Isabella. Best wishes for whole family.

Thank you Dani and best wishes to your family, too.
Tangled Tidbit -
*pretty shading adds softness and depth to the tangles and white spaces, too



From Henrike Bratz, CZT (Germany) ~

So here comes my contribution for your IAST#264. I loved drawing this somehow chaotic mass of leafshapes and hearts, merging into one another. The structures remind me of what you might find in the woods with fallen leaves between growing weeds.
All the best wishes

Tangled Tidbit -
*aura of Heartswell add wonderful dimension
*fabulous B-Leaf variations

From Marjan Heemskerk (The Netherlands) ~

Happy birthday to Isabella and Ada. What a joyful moments in your family!
I added Ada too as a welcome for her to this world.

Thank you, Marjan, that is a keepsake to have her name styled so beautifully.

Tangled Tidbit - 

*lovely Heartswell and B-Leaf combination

From Maike (Germany) ~

Warm greetings from Dresden, Germany. Congratulations to your newborn grandchild Ada.
And here is my tile for IAST#264. I liked Isa and Heartswell very much and all three tangles were new to me. But I had some difficulties with B-leaf. That‘s why I tangled only a litte one.

Thank you, Maike.
Tangled Tidbit-
*three wonderful variations of Iza


From Lisette (Switzerland) ~

I almost forgot to send in my tile and when I looked at it today I didn’t like it anymore. Why? I looked at it twice - It was the lower right corner which didn’t please me. I colored the background with black and now I’m happy. Therefore I’m sending both versions.
May Michael not cause too much harm! I’m with you in my thoughts.

Yes!  That added just enough contrast.
Tangled Tidbit -
*Knightsbridge filled Heartswell - so festive!


From Ria Matheussen, CZT (Belgium) ~

First of all congratulations for the whole family, especially for the
parents of Ada and thank you for a lovely challenge.
Immediately, when I saw the string, I thought about making a ribbon and
filled it with B-Leaf. Unfortunately by colouring and using my white
gellypen, this tangle disappeared a bit...
I enjoyed this wonderful challenge very much, I'm glad you all are safe
and I wish you and your family lots of pleasure with the new member of
the family!!!
Take care and send you warm regards from Belgium

Thank you for the congratulations, Ria!
Tangled Tidbit -
*beautiful B-Leaf filled ribbon twists to show the underside


From Sue Leslie, CZT (New Mexico) ~

What a special week for you, a 20th Birthday and a new granddaughter! Congrats to all of you. I had fun with the 20 and heartswell. Poked the other two in there just because I could.

Thank you, Sue.
Tangled Tidbit -
*Heartswell lined string - and a touch of pretty pink for all three tangles


From Baafke (The Netherlands) ~

This one is for your granddaughter, congratulations!
In Dutch we say: we're sitting on a pink cloud.

Ooh!  I like that!  Thank you, Baafke.

Tangled Tidbit - 

*sparkled black perfs repeat in all three tangles

 From Simone (Germany) ~

it was a long summer break, but now I startet again with Zentangles.
I love your weekly challenge and I showed it to my daughter. Now we are sitting on the same table in our living room and we are both doing your zentangle exercise. It´s a lot of fun for us.

I am so very happy to know that you find the time to tangle IAST together.
Tangled Tidbit -
*large, graceful Heartswell string loop
And from Simone's daughter, Nadina (Germany) ~

here is my picture for this week. Happy birthday Isabella.
Grettings from Germany

Thank you, Nadina!
Tangled Tidbit -
*shades of green aura for Heartswell as it loops along the string line


From Nor'dzin (Wales, United Kingdom) and here on her blog ~

Many congratulations on the safe arrival of Ada. I hope Isabella had a lovely birthday. I have just used Heartswell this time, so that I could piggyback it on my Inktober contribution for October 12th. For Inktober I am making all my tiles monotangles, and just using black ink and pencil. I’m posting them on Facebook and Instagram, as well as on my blog.

That is a great idea - you are sure to have a very creative month.
Tangled Tidbit -
*alternating black and white sections of Heartswell and tapered aura


From Anselm (Germany) ~

congratulations to your whole family. A new child, a 20th birthday. And a cute picture of your hands. Beautiful.
For the tile i took the suggested patterns Iza and B-Leaf. I prefered to add a Phicops to the loop of the 2. A little bit of black, some shading and your great task was finished.
Greetings from the sunny Berlin. In mid-october we have sunlight and a temperature of 25 °C here. We will have a walk in one of the berlin woods and enjoy the beautiful weather.
Best from Berlin

Thank you, Anslem.  Enjoy that beautiful weather.
*light and dark spaces balanced with lovely shading


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

Congratulations to your newborn granddaughter and your adult daughter. I wish you and your family all the best for the future!
When I was 20 years old, flower power was everywhere around. Your given patterns are wonderful organic and flowery. So I draw a flower power tile for celebration of your daughters 20th birthday.
You can find it on my blog...
Because I love to draw flowery tiles I enjoyed your challenge very much! Thank you for your wonderful idea!

"Flower Power" brings back so many memories, thank you for that and for your good wishes, Margarete.
Tangled Tidbit -
*a beautiful bouquet of fabulously flowery tangles


From Hilary (Chicago) ~

First of all congratulations on your family milestones, and best wishes to both your new granddaughter and your daughter! Much happiness to them both.
Here’s my tile for #264. I did it on Wednesday morning and I can’t remember if I had anything particular to say about it, just that I prefer it upside down!

Thank you for you good wishes, Hilary.
Tangled Tidbit -
*alternating light and dark spaces for the tangles add contrast as does the bright pink background


From VenaC (Whitby, Ontario, Canada) ~

Hope you didn't have any damage when the hurricane went through. Lovely being there for the birth of your granddaughter and your daughter's birthday. Your Hallowe'en houses are cute. Like the luminous jelly-roll pens. Heartswell and B-leaf were both new to me.

Thank you, Vena, there really is so much to be thankful for.  So glad to know you like the book, too.
Tangled Tidbit -
*pops of red, sparkled aura, and shading - heavenly Heartswell!


From Susie (St. Louis, Missouri) ~

Tangled Tidbit -
*lovely B-Leaf lined string with aura and shading


From Lynn G (Florida) ~

Happy Birthday to Isabella and welcome Ada.

Thank you, Lynn.
Tangled Tidbit -
*weighted lines, lovely green touches, make B-Leaf shine


From Trudi Taylor (Woodview, Ontario, Canada) ~

Sorry I didn't have a chance to finish last week's challenge it was just too busy traveling to see our kids and grandkids to celebrate Thanksgiving with them. I hope you weathered the storm Michael ok!

Happy Thanksgiving!
Tangled Tidbit -
*Iza filled red Heartswell string loops


From Lynn F (Florida) ~

Congratulations on the arrival of your new grand baby and the celebration of your daughter’s 20th birthday!
What a busy week for you.
I had lots of fun with this week’s challenge.

Thank you, Lynn, I love this kind of busy.
Tangled Tidbit -
*multiple variations of Iza and Heartswell - happy 'halo' for a green Iza


From Judy Wanner, CZT (Pennsylvania) ~

just because of sweet Iza! I love that girl️. So happy to have met her!
Happy Birthday to you too my dear Adele! Surely you do not look old enough to have a 20 year old. Have a wonderful day tomorrow and do not work. Wine and cake it!!! We all can wait!

Thank you, Judy, that permission made me relax - and pour a glass :)
*Iza bursts from behind the striped, doubled string - love the red!


A very warm welcome to Ginger from California ~

My first submission to you. I am a beginner, and just getting my feet wet.
20th birthdays are a celebration!

So happy you found your way here!  Your tile is lovely.
Welcome to our IAST community, Ginger, and welcome to our Tangled Map!

From Sue Agnew (Tucson, Arizona) ~

First of all, congratulations on a new grandbaby and an "old" daughter! (I can't remember, is Isabella your youngest?) When my older brother turned 40, I remember hearing my mother say "I'm not old enough to have a 40-year-old son!" I'm sure you're going through a bit of that!
Also — between South Carolina and Florida, I hope you and yours have managed to come through TWO hurricanes relatively unscathed (though traumatized, I'm sure)!
I just now re-read your instructions for this week and saw "I realize it may be challenging to use all three." Well, what was challenging was that Iza really wanted to morph with HeartSwell. I'm sure you've learned from raising teenagers that sometimes you have to just go with the flow. (I didn't put in all the auras because I thought it might become too busy, so I tried using pencil to suggest it, and then didn't feel like erasing it.) The thing I enjoyed most about B-Leaf was the "twistedness" of it, kind of like when you draw a folded ribbon. Not sure I got it exactly, but that's what I was playing with. So then I tried to morph one into a heart shape in the hopes of tying it to the HeartSwell/Iza half of the tile. (Oh, and the string is upside down.)
Thanks for another fun challenge! Oh, also congratulations on yet another book!

Thank you, Sue - I can relate to your mother's comment as Isabella is our youngest.
Tangled Tidbits -
*twists on B-Leaf (thought you'd like that, Sue!) and marvelous morphing of Iza and Heartswell


From Sharon Fite (California) ~

Congratulations on your new grandbaby and to Isabella on her birthday! Here's a snapshot directly out of my sketchbook. One and done!

Thank you, Sharon.
*wonderful flow to the tangles, wonderful Heartswell


From Ingrid (The Netherlands) ~

Here is my (belated) tile # 264 for this week with a lot of congratulations this time.
Congratulations on the birth of your granddaughter Ada
Happy Birthday to you
A belated Happy Birthday to your daughter Isabella
Congratulations on your and Dorian's newest e-book with the spooky tiny houses
You must be very proud and happy with all these milestones. I am so happy for you.
I run out of time and I am late(again) so,
Have a blessed week,
with much much love

Thank you for your happy wishes, dear Ingrid.
Happy Birthday to you, too!
Tangled Tidbit -
*glorious colors, lovely tangles - Heartswell auras inward adding great dimension


From Susan Theron (Velddrif, South Africa) ~

The string was not a suggestion, because it is in honor of your daughter's age. I am a big fan of Thomas Padros and Helen Williams and of course of you as well!

You made me smile, thank you, Susan.
Tangled Tidbit -
*aura-d B-Leaf flows into a stippled loop for Iza


From JoAnne (Canada) ~

This is my submission for IAST#264. I added the tangle, Copada, because I am little behind on my Inktober tangles!

I am happy to know that the one tile can be used for both.
Tangled Tidbit -
*pretty tangles, beautiful colors


From Ute Andresen (East Frisia, Germany) ~

... thanks for this nice challenge. I was thinking about you because I heard of a new hurricane in Florida. But these are better news! What a joy! Best wishes and congratulations for your family! Welcome to the new born little Ada. And Happy birthday to Isabella. And I hope that you are all ok and healthy.

Thank you for spreading the joy, Ute.
Tangled Tidbit -
*Heartswell stack topped with a single heart and curls


From Sharyn Penna, CZT (Massachusetts) ~

Congrats on a new baby grand and expanding family! Best wishes to Ada’s mom and dad. And may your daughter enjoy every minute of her 20s decade.
I couldn’t add Heartswell to my tile ... once I completed an Iza vine with B-Leaf my tile said “this is it”. I don’t use colors often on my tiles but ... I had some dressmakers chalk nearby and I wondered how it would work on my tile ... it was fast, easy, blended well. I used graphite first, then added the color and blended with the same tortillon ... chalk is a little dusty and probably won’t stand up to time, but it was fun to experiment.
So, cheers to births and birthdays and all that we are blessed with.

Yes, cheers to all of that for each and every one of us!  Thank you, Sharon.
Tangled Tidbit -
*intertwining Iza and B-Leaf leaves - lovely chalk colorings

This is my tile ~

I began with the names of our honorees, Ada and Isa, and then just followed the tangles. It has been too long since I took the time to concentrate on a tile, so I added more and more detail. Finally, I had to stop myself before I got too carried away.                    Cheers to my October girls!

From Felicity Strohfeldt (Velddrif, South Africa) ~

Congratulations, Adele and Family on the birth of a brand new, little girl in the family. May she bring infinite joy and happiness as she takes on her life’s journey. Congratulations also with your brand new twenty- something youngest daughter, Isabella. May she be wise and spread love wherever she goes.
Tile 264 is a fitting celebration of all the new excitement you’re all having. I began at the back so to speak with your lovely versatile Iza, and then Heartswell fitted well as the spring from which Iza sprang and finally B-leaf floated about reminding me of your Autumn time (Fall) leaves gently floating to earth. The touch of pink is for Ada of course, and blue and green for Isabella’s youthfulness. Wish you all the best in this happy time.

Felicity, that is a fitting wrap up to all of the best wishes from around the world, thank you, thank you.
Tangled Tidbit -
*gorgeous tangle variations and details


Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your good wishes - Ada and Isabella are well celebrated!

Many thanks to the creators of the tangles we used this week along with my Iza ~

B-Leaf by Tomàs Padrós

Heartswell by Helen Williams


The very next post will be "It's a String Thing" #265!

"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.

Thank you one and all for the fabulous artwork and kind notes. 

Many thanks to the creators of the wonderful tangles we used this week ~

Kettling by CZT Ria Matheussen

Sails by Helen Williams

Ahh by Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts

The results of IAST #264 are next, 

followed by "Cannie Corns" fun for IAST #265!