I tried my first attempt yesterday. It went better than I expected, but I was a nervous wreck! This is such a great learning experience.
My recipe and FO behaved well, however I made a few observations on my technique I'd like to share.
1. I was concentrating so hard on my pouring method and going so slow that the batter bunched up in my mold. I don't know if I left the towel propped up at the end too long. The top (or what I refer to as the OML (outer mold line)) is bumpy or wavy. I'll have to cut that off, which I'm planning to anyway because I'm sure it's going to be loaded with ash.
2. I didn't pour in each corner long enough so my zig & zags meet in the middle. In other words, there's almost a line going down the center instead of having a wavy look.
3. It worked better for me to lay the colors in the container in stripes (inline with the spout) instead of pouring them down the side of the container on top of each other.
I'm having a REALLY hard time not looking in the box. I want to go 72 hours without exposing it to air and it's killing me already! Ugh!