"That’s what I’m hoping for hamish! I’m just stumped at how I’m going to design around the knots. Especially that first one"
Work out the design of the bow length, width, shape that you would make if the stave was clean. Draw that shape, dimensions on a board or piece of ply.(you only need to do one limb if the limbs will be even)
Mark out a centreline that follows the grain. Transpose the measurements onto the line. Add to the width around the knots , flowing like a river around a large rock. If the limb needs to be 2" wide, and you have 3/4"wide knot, then the width from one edge to the other needs to be 2&3/4" wide at that spot.