People thought that she must be mad, but if she lingered there for any time they found her so rational in everything else she said and did that they began to doubt their initial impression that she was unsound of mind.  She soon became known from one province to the next, so that her reputation often preceded her and they called her the Flying Woman on account of the strange tale she told . . . She did find him . . . Then Blimunda said, Come.  The will of Baltasar Sete-Sóis broke free from his body, but did not ascend to the stars, for it belonged to the earth and to Blimunda. 

— José Saramago, Baltasar and Blimunda

if you’ll be traveling during the upcoming holidays and are looking for something to knit during your journey, we whole-heartedly recommend blimunda, a super speedy, simple and “mindless” project that drapes beautifully and looks just as elegantly effortless as it is to create.

blimunda is knit almost entirely in garter stitch with 26 rows of stockinette thrown in.  using a combination of US6 (4.0mm) and extra large 16.0mm needles, we were able to complete blimunda during our flight to/from houston a few weeks back (about 6-7 hours).

and a reminder in time for thanksgiving . . . we make some of our patterns available for free as a means to raise money for Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). if you’re up for it, please consider supporting this incredible organisation!

bli • mun • da
(blee-’moon-dah). noun [usu. as object]

is a light and luscious cashmere scarf whose 75″ length can be worn every which way.   dramatic gauge changes (4.0mm/16.0mm) are utilized to achieve textural interest in a predominantly garter stitch knit project.

ORIGIN  New York City, pattern written by the Jones & Vandermeer design team.

experience level  easy

materials
•  qualità cashmere: 3 balls shown in wonderful white [our sample used up about 2.5 balls of yarn.  for a scarf that takes 2 balls of yarn, we estimate that casting-on 36 sts and knitting 8 rows rather than 10 using US6 needles will do the trick. . . if anyone chooses this option, please let us know how it goes]

•  US6 (4.0mm) straight needles and 16.0mm circular needles

size 9″ wide by 75″ long

pattern

CO40 sts with US6(4.0mm).
[Note: All odd rows are WS; all even rows are RS]

Rows 1-10: K40 with US6
Rows 11-12: Change to 16.0mm needle, K40
Rows 13-22: Change to US6, K40
Rows 23-24: Change to 16.0mm needle, K40
Rows 25: P40 with 16.0mm needle
Rows 26: K40 with 16.0mm needle
Rows 27-36: Change to US6, K40
Rows 37-38: Change to 16.0mm needle, K40
Rows 39-48: Change to US6, K40
Rows 49-50: Change to 16.0mm needle, K40
Rows 51 & 53: P40 with 16.0mm needle
Rows 52 & 54: K40 with 16.0mm needle

repeat rows 1-54 3 more times, then

repeat rows 1-48 1 more time

Finally, BO all sts.  Weave in all ends. Block to size. And, wrap yourself around and around with Blimunda!