Chekere Making, Part IV

Now I'm on the next and final phase of chekere making: beading. I was kind of dreading this part. I had to wait a long time for the right kind of string to come along. You'd think thin black twine would be easy to find, but no. I had to order it off the internet (ugh!) and they shipped it via snail mail, and I suspect they used actual snails to transport the string. Anyhow. The instructions said you create a ring to go around the top of the net for the other strings to hang down from and that part was easy. But then you had to cut the vertical strings and that part was easy too, except I was halfway through cutting them when I realized I was cutting them all too short. Good thing I know to expect this of myself and had ordered extra string for this sort of idiocy. I was a little nervous to start beading because I wasn't sure what I was doing. I had instructions, sure, but still. Here is a shot of me just starting out on the beading and being, in general, very happy:
Maybe when I get halfway down the chekere I won't be as excited anymore. Tying these knots sure can give you carpal:
But it's turning out a prettier than I thought:
This is not the kind of project for the wishy washy, or the hurried, or the far-sighted, or people with unsteady hands. I look like a grandma in this next shot. Or at least the kind of grandma who wears football jersies and makes chekeres. More later when I finish the thing.