Ankaret places bundles of lighter willow
still with the tiny branches and leaves on them around the stakes
weaving the bundles in and out for about 3 rows.
BACK BREAKING WORK
After the seat board is laid into place and the end stakes
are bent over end to end they are tied down to this board. Then
the side stakes are bent and tied and then finally the corner
stakes are pulled into place and tied.
SITTING DOWN ON THE JOB
Beverley is using her body weight to help hold down
the stubborn stakes so she can tie them more easily. After tying
hundreds of these knots with nylon twine our fingers and arms
ached all night long. We could really appreciate the efforts
of the early coracle makers who probably had apprentices to do
this part.
LAST TWO CORNER STAKES
Here the adjustments are made to tighten any loose knots and
get ready for the last stakes to be bent over before the ends
are trimmed and forced into the woven band at the beginning.
BAA BAA BLACK SHEEP
Ankaret had a few delightful little lambs that followed us
all around until they were fed each day. Since the group of us
were mostly weavers & basketmakers these cute wooly creatures
stole our hearts.
