From 9 o'clock to almost 5 o'clock, our hands and pasta machines were busy, busy, busy. There were 11 people in the class including some guests from other guilds and a newbie to the area. Byrd made SURE not a moment was wasted. (None of us wanted to waste a minute either.) We each came with sheets of clay in skinner blends. After these were made into plugs from our skinner blends, then the real fun began.

One prerequisite was that we use Irene's wonderful method of taking our selected red, blue, and yellow and make our green, orange, and purple. It was fun to see the different
colors and blends. By the end of the day we each had made approximately 30 canes.

Personally, I learned a lot. Byrd showed us several ways to do skinner blends - I will no longer be so precise in cutting my triangles of color! This class increased my confidence in myself and made me realize that even if something turns out different it's not wrong.

Byrd ended by reminding us we have to show and tell what we made with our canes. The first thing I did (and I will share) is made a bead from every cane which I will turn into
a memory bracelet. I also took a slice of each cane and covered a base making a heart for a pendant which will also be a wonderful memory of a great class. We also left with
handouts with a picture and directions for the various canes.

We missed everyone that was not there and many names were mentioned throughout the day.

submitted by Jan Scarborough, February 13, 2001