Hello! I’m Katie Startzman, author of STC Craft’s The Knitted Slipper Book. I blog at Duo Fiberworks with my twin sister Laura Poulette. Thanks to STC Craft for inviting me to guest post here!

We will soon be deep into slipper season—blustery, gray days and downright cold starlit nights. As someone who delights in making and wearing slippers, I look forward to this time of year. It’s an opportunity of pile on the handknits, make lots of soup, and catch up on my reading by the woodstove. But we’re not quite there yet. Here in Kentucky, we still have a good long stretch of crisp Fall weather ahead of us, and the layers I put on in the morning get peeled off as the day warms up.

To celebrate the changing seasons, I wanted to do a knit-a-long that featured a pair of slippers that would be a good fit for this transitional time of year. The Cotton Loafers from The Knitted Slipper Book are shoe-like slippers that are made from soft organic cotton and rustic jute twine. They’re my knitted mash-up of boat shoes, espadrilles, and loafer moccs. They feature functional leather lacing, and the thick jute sole is sturdy and comfy.

I’ll be hosting the knit-a-long on my blog, over the next two weeks. In a series of posts, I’ll share tips and tricks to knitting these quick-to-finish, stylish slippers. You can view the first post here. Since many folks are unaccustomed to knitting with jute, I’ll also be sharing a free pattern that combines the cotton and jute to make a mini-tote.

Thanks to Blue Sky Alpacas, we have giveaways planned too—a sweet kit of organic worsted cotton yarn, jute, and a hand-stenciled canvas project bag made by yours truly.

**To enter the giveaway here, leave a comment between now and Friday, September 26 sharing something that you love about this time of year.** The winner will be announced on Monday, September 29.

Be sure to join us at Duo Fiberworks in the coming days to knit with us and for a chance to win a kit over there too. Here’s the schedule:

Monday, September 22:      Inspiration and design

Thursday, September 25:   Knitting the jute sole, project kit giveaway begins.

Monday, September 29:    Knitting the slipper upper: Also share free pattern for the Bird Nest Mini-Tote

Thursday, October 2:        Seaming and finishing details, announce giveaway winner

Beautiful Yarn Rainbow from Harrisville Designs. Photo courtesy of Laura Poulette.

Last Saturday, the STC Craft team spent a beautiful fall wekend in Rhinebeck at the 33rd annual New York State Sheep & Wool Festival (10/19 – 10/20). We were in good company among 40k+ attendees ranging from knitters, crocheters, and handspinners to lots of fiber-producing livestock!

We proudly hung our STC Craft banner above a wide selection of our craft and design titles on sale via the Hudson Valley-based Merritt Bookstore. The stars of the day were our fabulous authors, doing demos and signings from the morning opening to the afternoon close.

Highlights included:

Steady crowds flocking to see The Yarn Whisperer, Clara Parkes, requesting autographs and providing some yarn tales of their own.
A Knitted Slipper tree for displaying sample projects, made by hand just for the event by the twin sister of The Knitted Slipper Book author, Katie Startzman.

The Knitted Slipper Tree.

Multiple festival attendees greeting Amy Herzog and gushing about how her book has changed their whole knitting experience—we even sold out of Knit to Flatter!
Fans of Gretchen Hirsch (in the Shirtwaist Dress from her book!) coming to get their new copies of Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing signed (and to hear about Gretchen's second book, coming soon).

Project samples from STC Craft titles on display.

With other autumnal-themed treats like fresh cider and homemade jams, live llamas and alpacas, and tons of vendors of yarn and knitting gear, the festival is a great destination for everyone, young and old, who wants to spend a happy day in the country. Plus, the fall foliage makes the trip even more worthwhile! A big thank you to our STC Craft fans old and new who stopped by the booth to meet our authors and check out our books—hopefully everyone got some great ideas for new projects!

The source.