Interviewee

Elf hats for Christmas babies: midwife Sari’s tiny welcome gifts

This tree won’t drop a single needle: Marsa crocheted a Christmas tree from about 300 granny squares

Miritsa crafts house lanterns from nothing but royal icing: “People have thought my sugar lantern was crocheted”

“When my mom died, knitting saved me”—now Marjut’s wool socks carry on her mother’s legacy

Riitta grew a houseplant from a peanut—“It’s so lush and keeps putting out new leaves”

Riikka’s pre-Christmas tree blooms all autumn: “I dried my summer flowers for the Christmas tree”

Loofahs for the family: “Two months after sowing, they were climbing the curtains”

Niina is hooked on crocheting flower hats: “Crocheting has become a way to avoid housework and unpleasant feelings”

“Easy, perennial, and bloom for a long time”: a landscape designer’s guide to alliums

Tuula loses a leg, but stays unstoppable: “We won’t give up”

Photographer Meeri Koutaniemi embraces the cottage’s natural beauty and open-water swims: “The happiest moment is realizing the love around you”

Saimi Parikka revives abandoned knits: “There’s no need to fear unraveling”

Arabia’s spray-painted cups: Kia’s thrifting obsession—“I already have duplicates of many cups”

Poolside paradise with a southern feel: this family's deck project ended up taking four summers

Cottage life with two donkeys: “You can share your worries with them, and they won’t spread them around”

“Sewing can’t be that difficult,” Jukka thought—and now he’s saving hundreds on hiking gear

No gray in sight: Anna-Maija snaps up every porcelain swan: “I need cheerful colors around me”

Ripening tomatoes indoors is easy—follow these steps for garden-fresh flavor

Knitted Mona Lisa? Finnish knitter’s skillful sweaters are wearable art

A rare muscle disease doesn’t stop Sanna’s cottage adventures: “When the weather allows, I float on an inflatable boat in the lake”

Anna’s sunny home brims with Finnish design: “Yellow always catches my eye at flea markets”

Tiina adds summer sheep and ducks to her cottage: “Caring for the sheep was a bit hectic at first, since they were bottle-fed”