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Tuesday, March 5, 2019

"It's a String Thing" #281

As March came roaring in "like a lion" ("yike a yion" as my grandson Xavier used to say in his toddler years) we tangled with bold patterns and lines to celebrate.

Let's take a look ~

The first tile arrived from Robin Steinbeck (Painesville, Ohio) ~
Here is my IAST #281. I haven’t participated in your challenge in a long time. My best friend passed away last May from lung cancer. It really took a lot out of me. I lost my Zentangle mojo. January 1st I sat down with a tile in front me, took a few deep breathes and began. It seems like my intentions are more defined now. The joy tangling brings me is beyond words. I suffered a great loss with my bestie passing but I found Zentangle again...
 Tangled Tidbits -
My sympathies for your incredible loss.  It is heartwarming to know that you found the courage to pick up your Micron and tangle again - and that it gives you such joy.  Welcome back...
*aura-ed string lines
*each tangled section shaded as a whole


From Donna Matoi (California) ~
I’ve been busy as a caregiver for my 92 yr father in law and just haven’t had much time to tangle within the parameters of the time frame. But I found a few minutes today and just wanted to share! I try to still follow along weekly for my sanity.
Thank you for all you do as I always look forward to visiting your blog.
 Tangled Tidbits -
You are the best daughter-in-law.  Thank you for following along and it is wonderful that you found the time to tangle this week.
*Crescent Moon filled Strirciles
*shading adds roundness


From Amy L., CZT (Connecticut) ~
I find grid tangles challenging, but found I really liked strircles. I might try this one again, but here’s what I got.
 Tangled Tidbits -
*highlights on black and shading on white half circles
*three sizes and angles for Strircles


From Lisette, CZT 32 (Switzerland) ~
Thank you for this new challenge. I’ve never drawn Bitten, it’s a great pattern! Strircles was one of my favorites at the beginning of my tangle “career”, but somehow I neglected it. I’m glad we met again.
After a long sunny spell with much to high temperatures for February, a drop of temperature, heavy rain and strong winds greet the month of March. (It’s a blessing for nature). Therefore the string and patterns fit perfectly here in Switzerland too.
 Tangled Tidbits -
*Tipple fills and spills
*line of highlight on Bitten and Pinwheels adds even more depth to the curved grids


From Ria Mathuessen, CZT (Belgium) ~
Thank you for a special challenge with two (for me) unknown tangles: Bitten and Pinwheels.
I just enlarged the string with another stroke and used ordinary colourpencils to give a final touch.
I'm looking forward to see the other tiles and wish you a wonderful weekend,
Warm regards from Belgium
 Tangled Tidbits -
*curved Strircles
*checkerboard Bitten


From VenaC (Whitby, Ontario, Canada) ~
I messed up Bitten, but as there are no mistakes, only opportunities, I did something I hadn't done before. I cut the offending Bitten off and stuck a tile of a slightly different colour behind the rest of the tile which I had already completed. I then redid Bitten and am fairly pleased with the result. Glad you had a good time on your grandma break. It is always nice to get away from one's normal routine and spending time with little ones always makes a nice change.
 Tangled Tidbits -
What a clever idea!
*Crescent Moon filled Strircles and one large Strircle filled Crescent Moon
*sparkled Bitten


From Margarete Gilge (Germany) and here on her blog ~
this week I drew two versions of your challenge, one in black and white, the other on a colored background. I send you the second one, drawn on a bench in the spring sun. I like the contrast between the patterns and the springlike coloring. In our area we never had such a nice spring weather with over 19 Degrees at the end of february.
Thank you for this interesting challenge! Both tiles one can find on my blog under the link...
A wonderful weekend to you and your family and best wishes from Germany
 Tangled Tidbits -
*two variations of Pinwheels
*complimentary organic tangles and curves (signature Margarete!)


From Lin H., CZT (Florida) ~
Thanks for your challenge, Adele! Bitten was new to me and fit in well with your other chosen tangles. Fun, as always!
 Tangled Tidbits  -
*fine lined and shaded Strircles
*bold lines Bitten


From Ingrid Coventon (The Netherlands) ~
First of all I hope that you enjoyed your "gramma" time to the max. Isn't it wonderful to be a grandmom? I hadn't thought I would enjoy it so much.
In the attachment two tiles. On and off for the last two weeks I have internet and printer problems . And they are still not resolved. So I couldn't send you my tile
# 280 earlier.
It was so welcome to have some extra time to make the tile and I enjoyed it very much.
 Tangled Tidbits -
(Ingrid's IAST other tile will be posted later this week)
*beautifully bold tangles
*line variation on Bitten


From Karin (Germany) ~
here is my entry to challenge no. 281
Like Michael Jackson sang: It´s black, it´s white...
Greetings from Germany
 Tangled Tidbits -
*opposite Strircles coloring
*checkered Bitten


From Antony Visconti (Milan, Italy) ~
Thanks for this lovely challenge. I really enjoy the geometric patterns.
 Tangled Tidbits -
*star like Bitten spaces
*Strircle circles intersect multiple lines


From Hilary (Chicago) ~
As you said March is coming in like a lion! We have record cold forecast for tomorrow and Monday.
This was another great challenge which I enjoyed doing. I wish I’d had more time to spend with it, but I’m sure everyone's results will be wonderful to see.
 Tangled Tidbits -
*bold Bitten lines
*shaded Strircles


From Eni Oken, CZT (California) and here on her blog ~
I had such fun playing with this string and the beautifully dramatic grid tangles suggested! Last week my students and I have been playing with the concept of "Spherifying grids" and when I saw the dramatic grid tangle suggestions, I couldn't resist the challenge of converting them into "eggs".
I wrote a little about the process of creating this piece on my blog...
Thank you again for everything that you do!
 Tangled Tidbits -
*fabulous tangles combinations
*tangles rise from the tile
Be sure to click on the link for Eni's blog post - what a great technique!


From Priscilla DeConti, CZT (Kingston, New York) ~
I had a bit of a time this week..yet when I started it all came together..Strcirles did not quite fit in for me...but I did love using pinwheels and bitten..I added amalea and a triangle fragment.It is hard to see but I did use glitter paints for filling.
Fun times in all..have a great week
 Tangled Tidbits -
*pretty combination of tangle and color
*thickly striped Bitten


From Talia M. (London, United Kingdom) ~
I hope you are well. Here's my tile for this week's challenge.
Have a lovely weekend.
 Tangled Tidbits -
*similar weight to all of the tangles
*Bitten and Pinwheels share grids


From Lynn F. (Florida) ~
I had so much fun with this challenge!
It’s such a beautiful day here today I can’t help but think of spring flowers so I decided to use the colors green and purple. I have 4 different types of pens and they each include green and purple.
I added A-frame to the fourth area.
Yet another storm is sweeping across the US so I hope this tile will bring spring to those who are suffering through nasty weather around the world.
 Tangled Tidbits -
*happy spring colors
*stripes and Crescent Moon filled Strircles


From Kathy Millard (Prince George, BC, Canada) ~
These tangles were a lot of fun.
 Tangled Tidbits -
*deep shading accents white spaces
*alternating Crescent Moon, black, and white Strircle spaces


From Cassi (Illinois) ~
Lots of ink in this one!
 Tangled Tidbits -
*white striped Bitten
*'c' strokes in Strircles variation


From Ginger White (California) ~
A simple tile.
 Tangled Tidbits -
*three variations of Strircles
*checkered Pinwheels


From Susie (St. Louis, Missouri) ~

Tangled Tidbits -
*sparkled dark sections shine
*gem like Strircle orbs


From Shirley Wohlsen (Queensland, Australia) ~
Attached is my Tile for “It’s A String Thing # 281” Challenge.
 Tangled Tidbits -
*Crescent Moon filled Strircles - grand contrast to the bolder tangles
*crisp lines and soft shading


From Jane Rhea (Indiana) ~
Thank you, as always for a fun challenge! Both the tangle “bitten” and “pinwheels” were new to me. I wasn’t paying close enough attention to the step-out for “bitten,” so I improvised with a gold pen. The gold ink continued to migrated around a bit as well. It is marvelous to see everyone’s tiles and the wonderful results inspired by your always creative strings.
Thank you, also, for honoring Juul. How astonishing that it is Zentangle that first connected our hearts. Enjoy every precious second of grandma time
 Tangled Tidbits -
*Tipple sneaks passed the border
*perpendicular Strircle detail lines


From Allison (California) ~
Here is my offering for this week’s challenge. These aren’t tangles I would choose voluntarily, but the shading really makes a huge difference.
 Tangled Tidbits -
*shading along the string lines
*combination of straight and curved grids adds more depth


From Sra (India) ~
Here's my entry to IAST 281.
 Tangled Tidbits -
*thick and thin lined Bitten
*curved Pinwheels


From Karen Buse (California) ~
Woo, this turned out to be a very dark tile. Quite a challenge to shade with all that black. Interesting…
 Tangled Tidbits -
*beautiful bursts of tangles
*fine lined details repeat in all three patterns


From Gabi (Germany) ~
March starts like April here at Germany: sun and rain, mild and icy in chance. And there also is a mixup on my tile with the suggested patterns and some bubbles...
 Tangled Tidbits -
*Printemps details for Strircles
*shaded orbs compliment Strircles


From Marjan Heemskerk (The Netherlands) ~
All tangles were new to me. I love Strircles and Pinwheels. I used two tangles because three bold tangles were a little bit to much for me:)
 Tangled Tidbits -
*Pinwheel's triangle shapes repeat in Strircles
*weighted lines around Strircle orbs


From JoAnne (Ontario, Canada) ~
Wow! You sure picked 3 bold patterns and it seems that my tile is a little busy! I think I’m hoping for sun and blue skies!
 Tangled Tidbits -
*sun and blue skies reflected color and tangle
*lovely tangle variations


From Felicity Strohfeldt (South Africa) ~
Tile 281. Hummm! Not a lover of grid patterns so I kept them straight-forward and in the end was happy with the result. Conclusion, grid patterns can look so dramatic! Hope you are all doing well and enjoying the oncoming Spring weather.
 Tangled Tidbits -
*dramatic Bitten variation
*double lined, Tipple filled Strircle


From T. ~
Between the last challenge and this one, I seem to be dealing with some brain fog. That means I had to rush to get this one finished.
For this challenge, Bitten was new to me but it wasn’t at all hard to learn.
I’ve drawn Pinwheels many times in the past, but this time I found it difficult to keep straight which sections to colour and which to leave blank. I think I came up with a solution to hide my biggest hiccups, but there were some that had to be left as they are.
Strircles is always a fun pattern, but by the time I was done drawing it I was overwhelmed by all the black and white space on the tile so I added some spots of colour.
I’m glad I finished this challenge because it means I’m keeping up with my weekly commitment. However, probably because I rushed it, I don’t feel the satisfaction I’ve felt with the previous weeks’ challenges.
 Tangled Tidbits -
*interwoven detail lines
*pretty pop of red Tipple


Beautiful tiles, thank you everyone for your inspiring work. 

I appreciate the sweet sentiments for my "Gramma time" - there could never be enough!

Thank you for the weather updates from around the globe, too.  I find it fascinating that we live in such a variety of temperatures and environments.

Special thanks to the creators of the bold tangles we used this week:

Bitten by CZT Carole Ohl

Pinwheels by CZT Suzanne McNeill

Strircles by Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts

The very next post will be "It's a String Thing" #282
Check back later today!


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