String Challenge #163 and some Travelling Tangles

String Challenge #163

Adele's string with Flukes, Andromeda and  Cruffle

I love the weekly challenges...even if I don't "love" the challenge. This one was a beast. I'm not gonna lie. The polar opposite of  the Diva Challenge. I was just not gelling with how this was developing. I started without a "plan", just a zen-ful idea of what might fit where. I abandoned this about midway through, moved onto another start in the sketchbook, thinking it would be more Zen to just keep it simple. It wasn't, so I came back to this. because I try to go with my first attempt for better or worse as it's all part of the journey...bumps and all.

I persevered. I was not pleased with the way the patterns were relating to each other. I thought shading would help. It didn't. But, you know what? that's okay. Moving on...

...this was a big week for my Travelling Tangles. I went a little crazy with my swap commitments  so I've been happily working my way through an ever dwindling (yay!) stack of Happy Mail:-)

First up are my finishes:

Kat van Rooyen sent me this from West Virginia

I finished it with my latest obsession...Tripoli in a swirl formation.

This came from Katy Abbott in Ohio

I had a lot of fun finishing this. I rarely use "Drupe" and I don't know why;-)

Christel Foncke in Belgium sent this a few weeks ago.

(The finished leaf is featured in last weeks post)

Just a little bit...I didn't want to cover the texture

These were my starts so beautifully finished:

Margaret Bremner's amazing finish to my relatively simple (unshaded) start

This is just too cool. I forgot to sign the art and Margaret designed a "Chop" (an artistic symbol of your initials) for me that mirrored her own;-) 

I sent these to Anita Westin in Sweden...

...she finished my Sandswirl/Trio start with Joki

I love this combo of spiral patterns. She really transformed the piece.

I sent these to Heidi Whitney in Utah

I love Heidi's finish!

Heidi submitted this as her Diva entry for this week. I have to say that I'm very humbled, thankful and not just a little bit relieved that Heidi felt that this experience fit the bill of "Relaxed". I fear sometimes that my colors and shading technique might cause my swap mates stress.

...and this other piece! All I can say is Wow!

I sent these to Sue Clark in Colorado

Sue's fabulous finshes!

Thanks so much for visiting and sticking with me on this long post. Your thoughtful and generous comments delight and inspire me.