My favorite time of day is the few minutes between the time I wake up and the time my kids get up. A few sips of coffee, a little knitting (if I slept well), and watching the sunrise out our kitchen window help set the tone for a good day.

Something about cold weather makes this morning tradition of mine even sweeter - taking my coffee out to sit on the steps while our dog sniffs around the yard, watching the mist rise from the field across our house, and enjoying the peaceful sounds of rural living just add to the charm of my morning coffee. Throw in a beanie and a sweatshirt, and you certainly won’t find me rushing back indoors until I’ve savored every last second of the early morning (or at least until I’ve run out of coffee).

The Morning Coffee beanie was born out of one of those early mornings - the first morning in the dog days of summer when I woke up and it wasn’t already blazing hot outside. There was a whisper of autumn - or at least the possibility of it - in the air.

Using simple stranded colorwork and just two colors, the Morning Coffee Beanie makes an ideal first colorwork project that gives great results. The ribbing is knit using smaller needles, and larger needles are used for the body and the colorwork section.

Any super bulky weight/size 6 yarn will do the trick - just make sure you have appropriate yardage (see pattern details) for the main color and contrast color. If using Lion Brand Hometown USA, one skein of each MC and CC will be enough.