WILL MOSES

“It’s all easy. I have no patience for anything too fiddly.”

Every year, Kristin and her four sisters hold a post-Thanksgiving crafting party on Black Friday. Gathering materials in the woods, they invent fanciful creations, such as the tiny houses crafted from birchbark and recycled boxes that they still make every year. Using acorn “wreaths,” bits of evergreen adornment, and sparkly glitter, the homes would suit any woodland fairy.

It’s one festive way of staying connected to the land, even in winter. Kristin has always felt that pull. She loved her dad’s tales of childhood summers spent on his grandparents’ farm. “I thought it sounded fascinating,” she said. “I was sucked into the romanticism of it.” But it was Mark who enchanted her with tales of his country hometown. “In our first conversation he said, ‘I come from the most beautiful place in the world,’” she says. “So I knew it was pretty around here, but the first time I came, I fell in love.”

And so she has made a home here, where comfort and joy reside long past holiday season. A soft plaid blanket embellished with one of Kristin’s wool flowers waits to be draped on a lap; piles of pillows made from patterned remnants invite serious nesting; brightly painted lampshades reflect muted light. “It all adds another layer of warmth,” she says. “Color is really enveloping. It makes you feel safe and cozy and warm.”

To learn more about Kristin and to read her musings on design and farming, visit: kristinnicholas.com. More festive holiday decorating ideas at: YankeeMagazine.com/Décor

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