Martha Stewart to serve from Oct

Stewart, who was allowed to remain free while pursuing her appeal, is scheduled to report to prison by 2 p.m. on October 8, which would mean that she should be released by early March, 2005.

The judge said in court papers released Tuesday that she would recommend Stewart spend her prison time either in the Danbury, Connecticut Federal Prison or one in Coleman, Florida.

Stewart turned a home catering business in her own kitchen into a media and merchandising powerhouse that boasts TV shows, magazines and a line of housewares sold at Kmart, emerging as America8217;s best-known home decorating expert.

While her legal problems hit her company hard, its shares shot up nearly 30 per cent since she said she wanted to begin her sentence before her appeal was decided.

While both the Danbury and Coleman facilities are minimum security, they are far cries from Stewart8217;s usual lifestyle. At her news conference last week, Stewart said she would miss her dogs, cats, canaries, horses and chickens. After her release, Stewart will serve five months of house arrest, most likely at her home in Bedford, New York, where she would wear a monitoring device.

During a period of supervised release that will follow, Stewart has been ordered to report to her probation officer and complete a written report within the first five days of every month.