and roll lightly with the hands to form a thick rope between 12 and 14 inches long. repeat with the other two pieces so that you have 3 ropes of roughly equal length. line them up in parallel with the ends facing you.
gently grasp the end of the rope on the far left. lift it to about the center, leaving the far end on the counter, cross it over the rope nearest to it and lay it down. now grasp the end of the piece on the far right and lift it to about the center, leaving its far end on the counter, cross it over the (now) center rope 