Yesterday, if you didn’t know, was International Chocolate Day. It must not be confused with World Chocolate Day, which occurs on 7 July. World Chocolate Day marks the date when chocolate was introduced to Europe in 1550. International Chocolate Day marks the birth of Milton S Hershey. According to that fount of all wisdom, Wikipedia, there are other chocolate days around the world. The US has National Chocolate Day on 28 October, just in time for Hallowe’en. Ghana, the third largest producer of cocoa, has Chocolate Day on 14 February, coinciding with St Valentine’s Day. Latvia has their Word Chocolate Day on 11 July. The US National Confectioners’ Association has four chocolate days in their calendar: 7 July, 13 September, 28 October, and 28 December. The last is specifically for chocolate candy.
Ten Years Ago: Wick in the Evening
A brief internet search found another site that listed days for other foodstuffs including chocolate in various proportions:
3 January – National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day
10 January – National Bittersweet (Dark) Chocolate Day
22 January – Chocolate Blondie Day
27 January – National Chocolate Cake Day
31 January – National Hot Chocolate Day
31 January – World Vegan Chocolate Day
5 February – Chocolate Fondue Day and World Nutella Day
11 February – Peppermint Patty Day
14 February – Cream-filled Chocolates Day
19 February – National Chocolate Mint Day
25 February – National Chocolate Covered Nut Day
28 February – National Chocolate Soufflé Day . . .
The list (https://www.cocoaandheart.co.uk/national-chocolate-days/) includes some 50 chocolate-related days. Scarcely a week goes by without someone, somewhere, celebrating chocolate.
It’s been another humdrum week here. After a hiatus of several months due to holidays, car troubles, other stuff to do, etc., I went to the museum to chart ganseys. Coincidentally, both charts were for ganseys with panels of diagonal lines. One had panels of finely-worked lines separed by a single garter stitch. The other had panels with more widely spaced lines and a wide dividing panel with a pattern that is difficult to discern.
D Main: Diagonal panels with wide separating panels
The back of the current gansey on the needles is well along, with about half the length from division to shoulder completed. Now that the back can be laid flat, the pattern is more visible. It took a few minutes of conceptual thinking to visualise how to work the purl rows on the back as knit rows, but once that was done, the knitting was greatly simplified, so that there are three knit rows – the purl row is knit on the reverse side – and one row of k3 p3. This creates a checkerboard-like effect that is simple and effective. But even though pattern is uncomplicated – three knit rows, one k3 p3 – I still regularly check to ensure the k3 p3 is properly aligned.
Finally, a brief notice for all you gansey fans in the UK: It’s Propagansey from 12 – 20 September. The exhibition is run 10-4 daily, at Fylingthorpe Methodist Church, YO22 4TW. Run by the indefatigable Deb Gillanders, there are ganseys old and new on display, including some from the Flamborough Marine collection and a few by Gansey Nation.
Angus McLeod: panels of finely knit diagonals
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