It is finally feeling fall-y around here. There is a crispness in the air and we are tossing sweaters on in the morning. I went on a bit of a boot bender last week. I love fall, but I also love winter, and sometimes I get excited about fall just because it means we are closer to winter.

Moving to the south means I am not among my people when it comes to winter-love. Southerners don’t really do winter. Which just means less competition at the thrift store for all the warm things! There are ample hats and mittens at the thrift store and I am unable to pass up a well-knit item, even if it might be in a yarn I would never use because it is just too rough or itchy. So what’s a girl to do when you have a pile of beautiful, but uncomfortable woolens? Line everything with cashmere of course.

Ten years ago I picked up a soft grey cashmere sweater for $3. And for the past decade I have been cutting strips and stitching them into hats. It instantly upgrades a decent hat to a decadent one. I took it one step further and upgraded my warm, but itchy, wool sweater that I got for Iceland. I love the look and bulk of this classic lopapeysa, but the collar made it very uncomfortable. A little bit of cashmere and a lot of hand-stitching later and it is now the perfect sweater. Over the years I have added tan and black cashmere sweaters to my scrap stash and I find myself upgrading a few items each year.

When it snows I bring out our (now rather large) box of hat and mittens for neighbors to wear because gardening gloves just don’t cut it in a snow storm. Full winter is still a few months off here, but this time next week I will be getting my winter fix in Iceland. I can’t wait.