This week we used an elegant and simple tangling technique by Helen Williams that she calls "String Grid". One pattern, one tile, and lovely ways to accent it -
as Miriam G says below in her note, "...it was such a lovely change of pace."
as Miriam G says below in her note, "...it was such a lovely change of pace."
Let's take a look ~
The first tile arrived from Shirley Wohlsen (Queensland, Australia) ~
Attached is my Tile for ‘It’s A String Thing # 246’ Challenge.
I have always admired Helen’s work, it is so beautiful and elegant,
I don’t know that I have achieve the elegance Helen has but I did enjoy trying.
*pretty pedal finishes added to additional intersections
From Sally Whiteman (New Zealand) ~
Attached is my tangle for this week's challenge.
I had two or three goes at this, it's not as easy as it looks on the step out. I found it very challenging.
Tangled Tidbit -
*happy hearts and curly cues
From Sandra (Germany) and here on her blog ~
I tried the String Grid of Helen many times but I really had problems with it... But in the end I tangled a zendala and I like the flowery look of it :-)
...Many thanks for this challenge and
many greetings from germany,
best regards
* tangles glow on colorful background
From Lin H, CZT (Florida) ~
Thanks for your challenge, Adele, and thanks to Helen Williams for her “string grid.” Was a lot of fun drawing and coloring this one.
* sparkles and lovely beads
From Ilse Lukken (Switzerland) and here on her blog ~
Somehow I missed Helen Williams’ String Grid, so thank you for making it your challenge of this week! It’s a lovely way to tangle.
* weighted lines and elegant center enthatching
From Kate (United Kingdom) ~
My contribution to this week's challenge, with best wishes
* wispy lines, rounded petal finishes, deep centers and outer shading
From Jutta Gladnigg, CZT (NRW, Germany) ~
This week’s tile is a big Yin–Yang heart with strings of fluttering petals...
The undiluted re–inking colours for stamp pads are even more saturated on the tile than the photo can show... Might be an idea for those who like a bit of 'colour drama'... And thank you, Adele, for this cool idea of linking us to Helen Williams‘ latest post ... and thank you, Helen Williams, for your great 'String Grid' and tutorial.
Tangled Tidbit -
* delightfully detailed four petaled florals
From Susie (St. Louis, Missouri) ~
* wonderfully varied finishes of the string lines
From Ragged Ray (United Kingdom) ~
Like you, I was smitten the moment I saw Helen's new technique. And practising it was every bit as pleasing as I hoped it would be. You start with a string that looks a bit messy, and you can't quite imagine how things will resolve. But they do. I chose to fill mine, not with petals, but with Bunzo - filling certain spaces in the string, but not others. Some rounding, shading and a broken frame and there it is. And I'm glad I decided to work on a larger Zendala tile, because I enjoy filling so much space. I know I will revisit this idea again and again and I can imagine the results will be unexpected but attractive every time. I can't wait to see how others use it too.
* beautifully finished Bunzo sections make the white space as pretty as the tangle itself
From Gudrun (Germany) ~
It's been a while since I posted anything - here's my post for this week.
Sunny greetings from Germany (BW)
* terrific Tipple finishes
Welcome back, Gudrun!
From VenaC (Whitby, Ontario, Canada) ~
I did many. My first three looked like a tangle of wool with not much room for the daisies. For this one I did the string in pencil and only did two and a half strings. Then I erased the bits I didn't like. I ended up with two tiles that were OK. The other one was all daisies and as I rather liked Helen's morning glories I tried another and another, etc. This was the final choice. Doing so many was quite relaxing but I wish I could have got closer to Helen's elegance.
* a very elegant striped and sparkled variation
From Lily (Hungary) ~
...here are my tiles for your weekly challenge. I drew two. Thank you for lovely challenge!
Zenhugs:
Tangled Tidbit -
*shading gives the impression the tangle is stacked
From Baafke (The Netherlands) ~
What a nice challenge this week!
* ribbon-like finishes accent petal centers
From Ria Matheussen, CZT (Belgium) ~
Just as you do, I liked the idea of a grid string immediately. It is uncomplicated to do, pleasant and beautiful. Everyone can give a personal touch on her/his work.
I have coloured some spaces with ordinary colourpencils and used a few tangles: Jester (Marie Browning), Fescu and Beadlines.
This drawning is made on tan coloured paper.
I enjoyed this challenge very much and am glad to have learned something new and refreshing, thanks to you and thanks to Helen.
Have a nice weekend and I am very curious to see the results,
Warm regards from Belgium
Tangled Tidbit -
* colors and highlights glow on brown paper
From Hilary (Chicago, Illinois) ~
What a fun tangle this was, Adele! And another one with infinite possibilities! Thanks so much...
*curved, looped, and angled connecting lines - love that!
From Laurel Davis, CZT (New York) ~
I really enjoyed using one of my Moonlight GellyRoll pens to draw this fun tangle from the very talented Helen Williams. Thanks for this great challenge!
* ethereal look of Moonlight on black
From Miriam G (Port Hueneme, California) ~
I had already watched Helen's video and so was excited that you chose her String Grid for this week's challenge. It's a bit harder than it looks! (either that or I am simply not coordinated enough to get my lines to behave...). After many, many 'scary' looking practices, I finally managed to get one that wasn't too bad, so I stopped right there. Unfortunately, I didn't notice the pen bleed until after I had already finished. I will give it ago again when time allows.
Thanks for featuring this, it was a lovely change of pace.
* Mooka like curls and a dew drop - lovely additions
From Anita A Westin (Dalarna, Sweden) ~
Long time no seen… But I am still on the tangling path and I have been checking on IAST most of the weeks gone! But here I am again! I found Helen Williams pattern String Grid very relaxing. On my tile it comes with Purdy (Margaret Bremner) and Beadlines, also from Margaret Bremner.
* how very fun to add Margaret's new Purdy
Welcome back, Anita!
From Shelly St. John (Redwood City, California) ~
I love flowers so this week’s tangle was especially enjoyable. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone else’s creations.
* curls repeat in corner clusters to frame the colorful florals
From Lisette (Switzerland) ~
I’m sending both tiles I created because I can’t tell which one I like best. I bet some of you remember the film Mary Poppins and the song “let’s go fly a kite”. I kept humming this song while tangling. It was really uplifting and great fun. Thank you for this new challenge, Adele.
Tangled Tidbit -
*Betweed - a beautiful filler
From Ingrid (The Netherlands) ~
In the attachment my tile #246 for this week.
With much love and have a blessed week.
* graceful lines, subtle shading
From Maria (Canada) ~
Hello from Canadaland!
Love this week's challenge! I considered tangling behind it and overlaying this for something more complex, but I really loved the elegance and simplicity of just the flowers alone. Instead I gave them a nice deep finish with the colour pencils to really bring out the flower look. Couldn't help putting these in the garden for a moment for the picture!
*glorious colors, long and wispy lines
These are my tiles ~
I enjoyed the simplicity of this technique and from my first attempt resisted the urge to fill up the white spaces (too much, anyway!)
Thinking a bit more room would allow for more a more graceful flow of line, I used a larger black circle of card stock and tangled with a Gelly roll 10 ~
THEN, I saw Ragged Ray's new Miff and tangled this on a Zendala in blue with a bit of shading -
From Margarete Gilge (Germany) and here on her blog ~
...the topic this week was more difficult than it first looked. My first attempt ended up in the trash. Nevertheless, I have drawn two more tiles. I send you the third, which refers solely to the topic "String Grid". On my other I have drawn more patterns. It can be found on my blog at the link .
Thank you very much for this interesting challenge.
* large and smaller loops each with its own finishing touches
From Rennee W. (Austin, Texas) ~
I have been a longstanding fan of Helen Williams work. She creates beautiful designs. I thought this challenge should be simpler than it turned out to be. I struggled to get the flow and that 4th line was throwing me. When I finally “permissioned" myself to leave out that last line I felt like I had more room…
As ever, thanks for the challenge.
* ample room for beautiful finishes - love the larger leaf with smaller surrounding ones
From Judy Wanner, CZT (Pennsylvania) ~
Well hello there dear Adele. Here is my “quick like a bunny” tile. It actually started with a cursive J! I am really anxious to see all the tiles and need to explore more variations.....fits my loopy life right now!
Thank you for all you do, all you are. Love and hugs to all.
*soft shading, deep black spaces accent the delicately tangled pattern
From Simone Menzel (Germany) ~
I am happy to take part in your IAST challenge this week. When I saw Helens video on her blog some days before I wanted to draw „String Grid“ soon, and your challenge was a perfect occasion to do it just now.
I had a lot of fun with this tangle and could not stop before the whole tile was filled
Greetings from rather hot and sunny Germany !
*an aura for the entire String Grid with fabulous tangles to surround
From Denise Fairbank (Concord, New Hampshire) ~
So excited to try String Grid! Love the flow and openness. Couldn't resist adding the band of Shattuck...the string lined up perfectly just to tuck it in.
* marvelous mix of brown and black, highlights and shading
From Sra (India) ~
Here's my entry!
Have a good week!
* four String Grid sections in a row topped with orbs
From Nor'dzin (Wales, United Kingdom) ~
What an interesting idea from Helen. Here is my first attempt, which I decided I liked the best in the end. Have a lovely week.
* festive red detail line finishes
From Karen Herstowski (Atlanta, Georgia) ~
This was great fun. I love everything Helen does. She has a fluid movement that is unsurpassed. Thank you Helen for this tutorial.
I tried to just let it flow in hopes that I could achieve that fluidity:
Tangled Tidbit -
*rounded details in every enhancement - lovely!
From Sherry Conte (Sanford, Florida) ~
I did this twice. Once in my bullet journal with my General's watercolor pencils. I did it again on watercolor paper using Kuratake watercolors. Which do you like better?
Tangled Tidbit -
* ribbon-y lines between purple petals - and do I spy a cute caterpillar?!
From Barbara Steyer (Germany) ~
a quick partizipation and a big „thank you“ for your steady inspiration!
Greetings from a hot Germany
Tangled Tidbit -
*vibrant colors, pops of black, and deep red florals
From Sharon Fite (California) ~
I love Helen Williams' work, so fluid and lyrical. I've used a few of her tangles, but I definitely have stayed away from her Weaves and Whirls. Because, as much as I admire them, I don't have the line technique to pull them off. So, 246 was a challenge! But I was committed to facing it. After several (okay, many) shaky starts in my sketch book, on to tiles (yes, tiles plural). This was the best of the lot. I added a few Zingers and a bit of Floo in the corners, and we're calling it a good effort for this week.
* smooth line flow, soft shading, and white center dots
From Cyndee Pelley (Oklahoma) and here on her blog ~
Hi Adele from Oklahoma where it is so stinkin' hot it's hard breathe!
Thank you for a wonderful challenge this week! Helen Williams is an absolute favorite of mine and I just couldn't put this down! Unfortunately, my shaky lines struggled with the petals but I enjoyed it thoroughly just the same!
* sensational swirls of shaded aura and two versions of String Grid
From Audrie Wiesenfelder (Tucson, Arizona) and here on her blog ~
I really like this new technique from Helen Williams, but I was having some problems implementing it. If I added too many swirly lines, I got lost. So I stopped after just 2 lines, and was able to do it that way. I'll keep playing around with it, and hopefully will be able to get more complex soon.
*two lined variation - fabulous idea!
From Jane (Surrey, United Kingdom) ~
This was an interesting challenge, I didn't feel the need to overdo this as it is such a light touch tangle. Instead of shading I used an Elegant Writer calligraphy pen to add a little colour. You add water and the ink dissolves into green and pink hues.
Tangled Tidbit -
* pretty, inked petals compliment the border
From Ute (East Frisia, Germany) and here on her blog ~
Here is my contribution for It’s a String Thing this week.
I liked it.
Such a light and fluent thing. It was really a pleasure.
Thank you for inspiration and making this connection around the world. From Florida to Australia and then to me in Germany.
Tangled Tidbit -
* beautiful sense of movement created with flowing lines
And the tile for honors this week...
was sent in by...
Lynn G from Florida!
Lynn wrote ~
Thank you for another fun challenge. I just love Helen’s work.
* wispy tangles, multiple variations, beautiful balance of light, medium, and dark
Congratulations, Lynn!
Special thanks to Helen Williams for her brilliant idea and thorough explanation of String Grid.
(Click here for Helen's post.)
Thank you to all of the fabulous tanglers from around the globe who participated this week.
Check back Tuesday afternoon for "It's a String Thing" #247!
