Magpies, Homebodies, and Nomads Book Review

Magpies, Homebodies, and Nomads: A Modern Knitters Guide to Discovering and Exploring Style
by
Cirilia Rose
Price on barnesandnoble.com : $20.60


This book is a hodgepodge of knit philosophy, advice, and life/style guide.  There is a lot of text scattered throughout patterns, with pretty heavy background stories on each of the patterns featured.  The photographs are lovely and some of the patterns are very nice.  It is nice to have a story for each piece and a start to finish journey about inspiration to finished product.  There are a wide variety of yarns and colors used and it is a fun book to look through.
     With all of that said, I really wanted to love this book; however, I did not.  Not enough to buy it for my personal library.  As you might have spied in the photograph, I checked this book out from the public library in town.  Usually, if I like a book enough or think I will want to look at it again and again, I purchase it for my own reference stash.  (I have a general rule of 75%: If I like 75% of the patterns/designs, I will buy the book for myself.)  I would say this book is worth checking out (no pun intended), though.  I think the author has a strong narrative voice, it is just not one that spoke to me.  So, before you cross it off the list, check to see if it is at your library or thumb through a copy at the bookstore.  It is very possible it will speak to you.
     Like I said, it is an interesting book with lots of personal thoughts and anecdotes from the author.  However, my knitting lifestyle does not match hers nor could it.  The impression of her style I got was of a chic New York studio apartment with yarn and knitting integrated as much in her decor as in the waking hours of her day.  Part of me envies this artist image, but I cannot recreate it in my own life and it does not make me feel like less of a knitter for admitting it.  If you threw in to this bohemian chic lifestyle a toddler, a baby on the way, three dogs in a single family home, then we'd be cooking.  I think, however, that might make for a less interesting read.
 Bottom Line:   I did like a few of the projects included in the book.  The first section entitled "Magpies" was great because it had patterns for those guilt yarn buys where you only have 1-3 skeins of some very lovely yarn you knew you shouldn't buy.  It is well-written and the photographs are lovely.  However, I am not convinced it is a book that I would return to time and time again.  It was more of an enjoyable one-time read, so it will be returned to the library with gratitude but not purchased for my collection.  

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