In Deep Roots - Patterns Inspired by the Tallgrass Prairie, designer Denise Bell turns her eye and needles towards the landscape, flora, and fauna of the wide-open Flint Hills of Kansas.

Ultima Thule – a northern-most territory, a distant land, a remote ideal.

I’m a fan of the poet Mary Oliver.

From August 7-21, 2020 a Free Ravelry Coupon Code for the pattern will be included with kits purchased from Lost City Knits.

There are six miles of gravel and blacktop road to the nearest four way stop sign from our farm. That’s Lost City, and from that intersection Killabrew Road winds east along the Fourteen Mile Creek bottom.

Kits are available at Lost City Knits!

Inspired by the mid-century architecture and manicured lawns of Palm Springs, California, the Bougainvillea Vest offers an explosion of color, just as Palm Springs does after coming from the desert to the East.

How does one depict snowflakes falling in an empty field?

There are places that simply astound with beauty, and then there are seemingly simple places where one must look closer to see what’s going on. The former get all of the attention, but I’m drawn to the latter.

The Sonoran Desert ranges from Mexico northward to central Arizona, and reaches west into California and the Baja Peninsula. It’s vast, hot, and desolate, but there is a lot going on if you look. This garment includes motifs of cacti, bats, lizards, and a stylized setting sun.

This simple capelet is worked carrying Icelandic Plötulopi as a single strand for a light but warm addition to your wardrobe. This unspun yarn is soft as a cloud, with just a bit of halo. The finished garment should rest gently on your shoulders and provide enough ease to move your arms.

Flint Hills rancher Jane Koger mentioned that a survey of flora and fauna on her land turned up 56 species of butterflies, which was far more than she would have guessed. To her, that diversity of species of butterflies told her that she was doing something right by her land; that she had created not a pasture full of one type of life, but a pr...

The frost flower phenomenon occurs on mornings after the first few frosts of autumn, on a common roadside weed called Wingstem, Frostweed, or Crownbeard. Moisture at the base of the plant freezes and creates fragile ice formations around the plant’s stem. As soon as sunlight hits them, they’re gone.

The Preserve, a triangle shawl named for the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Kansas, is a tribute to an animal that was once hunted almost to extinction. The largest portion of this shawl depicts the horns flanking wide-set eyes, followed by a wide expanse of one of the big five nutritional grasses – Sideoats Grama. The applied edging re...

The stone building sits out by itself, but spend any time here and it becomes clear there is plenty of life on the prairie. One wonders what it would have been like on a school-day morning, with children coming from miles away for the day’s lesson. Uphill. Both ways.

One of the most important grasses in the Tallgrass Prairie, Switchgrass grows tall and graceful. It has many applications, from the production of biofuel to use in ornamental gardens. And Kansas cattle love it.

The tallest and best known of the tall prairie grasses, Bluestem can grow to nearly ten feet in a good growing season, with roots reaching almost as deep. Big Bluestem and Little Bluestem are native to the Kansas prairie, and provide ideal nutrition for grazing animals.

The Applecross Highland Shawl was inspired by the beautiful Applecross Walled Garden in the Wester Ross region of the Scottish Highlands.

It gets cold, wet and windy in the Scottish Highlands, and that’s on a good day. Folks there know the value of wool hats and mittens, and appreciate traditional patterns and vivid colors. Stand out on a hike through rugged territory, or on a walk through the supermarket parking lot if that’s more your speed, in this colorful toque and mitten set.

** Now available - both the half and full haps as one single pattern download!**

Now available as a single pattern download!

Now available as a single pattern download!

Now available as a single pattern download!

Now available as a single pattern download!

Running 54 miles from Talihena, Oklahoma to Mena, Arkansas, the Talimena Drive provides evidence for the saying that you shouldn’t go to southern Oklahoma at night, because in the dark you’d miss the beauty.

This large rectangle shawl was designed using wild silk moths as a theme. Using a provisional cast on at the center, each half of this shawl mirrors the other as do the wings of most Lepidoptera . The lower border of each side reflects the tail or fringe typically seen on all moths and butterflies. Nupps and cables depict the outline of the win...

This simple lace toe-up sock pattern is perfect for your everyday socks whether you’re pounding the city sidewalks, hanging out in your favorite art district, or playing frisbee at the local park. The back and forth movement of the lace alternating with solid stitched columns riffs on the fire escapes on former tenement buildings which are now ...

The Layla Shawl was inspired by a dream of a beautiful formal garden located in what is actually a haying pasture on our farm. Sure that I’d never have a formal garden I began sketching my dream garden on paper, translating what I saw into stitches and negative space created using fine silk yarn to depict four pathways emerging from a central p...

This simple cowl is an easy an entertaining project.

errata below

One of my earliest memories is of digging in the ground beneath one of my motherʼs fragrant rose bushes. This stranded colorwork mitten depicts an heirloom rose and chain links typical of fences of the 1960ʼs like the one I remember. I hope youʼll find digging your needles intothe stitches of these roses as enjoyable as my memory of digging aro...

This pattern is a recipe for a simple toe-up sock with afterthought heel. It highlights notes on gauge and foot measurement. Once the basics are understood, patterns and/or lace can be added with easy adaptation.

Whether you’re an experienced shawl knitter or a beginner, you’ll likely agree that wearing a garment you have made yourself causes you to walk taller, have more spring to your step, and feel more confident. Lost City Knits has designed this pattern for just that reason.

There are many beautiful spots on our farm in Oklahoma, and while we’ve built a house here, there is evidence that we were not the first to do so. We’re aware of a couple of spots on the acreage where small houses once stood, though nothing remains but negative space among the trees.

The Monarch Butterfly, Danaus plexippus, is perhaps the most famous butterfly in North America or even the world. These amazing creatures migrate northward up to 3000 miles

The ancient Celts believed that washing one’s face on the first day of May with the morning dew would enhance a woman’s beauty and health. This simple leaf pattern incorporates silver-lined size 8 seed beads which, if the sun hits them right, glisten like dew drops on fresh spring leaves.

Maaema (pronounced May-emma) is the Estonian goddess symbolizing Mother Earth. This simple narrow scarf depicts a profusion of flowers from Mother Earth that are perfect for a Spring scarf - or anytime you need a bring a little spring into your step.

An intricate stole depicting grape leaves, grape vines and grape clusters this pattern was inspired by evenings spent with a fellow knitter discussing yarn, patterns, lace, and life over a glass of wine at a local knitting retreat.

Each September for the past few years

Things that look alike, often people, are referred to as peas-in-a-pod. It’s not uncommon for people to tell me how much my daughter and I look alike. We look like two peas-in-a-pod they’ll say. It’s a big pod though. My daughter, is named for my maternal grandfather. Though we resemble my maternal grandmother in stature it’s my grandfather’s g...

Our Oklahoma farm is nestled in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. This design depicts the lush foliage that covers the rolling hills of the region in abundance during the spring and summer months.