Friday, February 22, 2013

KNIGHTSBRIDGE, and then some

Tangles: Knightsbridge
 Knightsbridge is one of the simplest tangles.
I always teach it in my Introduction class, on the first tile.
But wait! There is a lot you can do with a simple idea!


VARY THE SCALE - Do the tangle smaller or larger than you usually do.

HARLEQUIN - Do a series of parallel lines and do the next set of lines at an angle instead of perpendicular.

CURVY LINES - Draw all your lines curvy rather than straight.

MONOTANGLE - Use Knightsbridge in the dark squares of Knightsbridge.

 BORDER

Or a line. (Use Beadlines to fill - oops - extra space!)


ONE BY ONE - Draw the squares one by one instead of drawing a grid. It's a little more time-consuming but has a slightly different effect.

IRREGULAR LINES - Draw your lines with deliberately variable spacing.
OP ART EFFECT - Use variable spacing, but in a regular fashion. Start with wide spacing in the middle and gradually diminish it as you move toward the edges, or do the reverse and start with very narrow spacing in the middle and get wider toward the edges.

LIGHTEN OR DARKEN - Use thin lines to lighten (lines instead of black) or darken (lines instead of white).
Added March 6, 2013 with thanks to Maria Vennekens, CZT:
WOVEN EFFECT - When using thin lines in some squares you can shade the ends of those squares.

AURAS - Use Knightsbridge as an Aura around another tangle.
(Umm, yeah, that's a bit over the top, but you get the idea! Needs shading too.)
Tangles: Flux, Opus, Paisley Boa, Knightsbridge Aura


TWILIGHT ZONE - A Knightsbridge variation from Suzanne McNeill, also a CZT, found in her booklet Zentangle 2. Here Knightsbridge is done in the round with irregular circles. You can vary it by filling some of the squares with lines of different widths, or wavy lines.
Tangles: Cubine, Lava Juice, Rain, Twilight Zone

COMBOS - Mix and match any of the above!

KNIGHTSPEEK
I was quite taken by a new tangle from Donna Lacy, CZT.  It's a tangleation of Knightsbridge that she calls Knightspeek. Originally I read it as "knight speak" but, looking at the pattern I thought was "knight's peak", what with the pointy points and all. But it's 'peek' not 'peak' so... I don't know! But it's very cool.

One of the fun things is that it leaves part of that section empty. You can leave it that way or fill it with something else. Donna shows it as an 'X' through the middle of a section, but you can also do it along two or three edges of the section. You can even to it along all the edges, in which case you end up with a 'hole' in the middle. Try using it randomly in several places on the tile and see how it connects. Great fun!
Tangles: Crescent Moon, Knightspeek, Tipple, Voga
Tangles: Beadlines , Knightspeek, Palrevo, Perfs, Shing, Tipple

19 comments:

  1. Thank you so much! This is an awesome post.

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  2. Thank you so much for this tutorial/post! Not only is it great for Knightsbridge, but it also makes me stop and wonder what I can do with other patterns - a great inspiration!

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    1. Try doing an entire tile using variation of one tangle. You'll probably be surprised at what you come up with!

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  3. Great ideas! My imagination is really bad and I love find new ways to use these patterns. Thanks for sharing!

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  4. I've always avoided Knightsbridge because it was so, well, boring! But not any more....thanks for a great post! Feeling inspired :)

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  5. This is great! I will have to try this as Knightsbridge is one of my favorite tangles! Thank you!

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  6. Great overview of Knightsbridge possibilities! And Knightspeek is intriguing.

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  7. Amazing how the simplest tangle can be used so many creative ways!

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  8. Thanks again, Margaret, for a wonderful post. You get me so excited about the wonderful twists you give to everything. You inspire me over and over again! Thanks for being so talented and for sharing with us.

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  9. Dear Margaret you are such an inspiration! Thanks for passing on the zentangle blog info, it is brilliant, and for your Knightsbridge tutorial. I learn something new from you each blog. You are a great teacher. Thanks for sharing so we can grow!!

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  10. Thanks. Could never quite get the "curvey" version down quite right. Now I "get" it. Great ideas. Tracy

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  12. I am enthusiastically collecting all your beautiful variations on Cadent. Knightsbridge and Munchin, plus any others if they come along. I`m wondering if you have seen the most gorgeous collection of Knightsbridge variation tiles done by the kids of Thomas Jefferson Middle School in 2012, in I don`t know which state. You can see them near the bottom of Zentangle op-art or more likely at The Creation Station for October 16th, 2012. If I had your email address, I`d just send you the file I made of it - it`s gorgeous and there are others on her site!

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    1. I did find The Creation Station, but there was no way to search past classes. And 'zentangle op art' didn't get me anywhere. But I'd love to see the school children's work! If you could e-mail me a link I'd really appreciate it. (Check the Contact link in the top menu bar.)

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    2. http://thecreationstation.weebly.com/1/post/2012/09/september-27th-2012.html
      Here is the link to the artwork.... at least I think the is the show kannik was referring to.
      I love your blog! I'm just starting to tangle, and am trying to get past the 'work' into the zen!

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  13. Great post, lots of ideas here!

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