I’m bringing a little sunshine to the Portland White House with these pillowcases made from “Capri,” Katarina Roccella’s new fabric line for Art Gallery Fabrics. I fell in love with the line when I spotted it in Hawthorne Supply Company‘s weekly email newsletter a couple of weeks ago. It took a few days of daydreaming about it before I yielded to impulse and placed an order.
I was telling my students in a quilting class last week about my — ahem — rather large purchase, which I referred to as “a shopping accident.” One of my students said, “You didn’t have a shopping accident, you had a shopping adventure!” That sounds ever so much better, don’t you think?
I confess: I wound up ordering 10 prints from the line — and I may not be done yet! Just take a look at the fabrics:
Can you see why I fell in love with it? I have no earthly idea what I’m going to make with this luscious array but I did order enough extra of the aqua lemon print to make those pillowcases for the Dear Husband and me. (I used the burrito or roll-it-up method for the pillowcases, using my own tutorial which you can find here.)
I am lucky to have visited the tiny island of Capri several years ago on a trip to Italy with the DH. These pillowcases will be a fond reminder of that trip. They are a fond reminder of something else. When my siblings and I were little, our father used to sing to us. One of the songs he sang was “The Isle of Capri,” whose first two verses go like this:
“Twas on the Isle of Capri that I found her
Beneath the shade of an old walnut tree
Oh, I can still see the flow’rs blooming ’round her
Where we met on the Isle of Capri.
“She was as sweet as a rose in the dawning
But somehow fate hadn’t meant her for me
And though I sail with the tide in the morning
Still my heart’s on the Isle of Capri.”
According to Wikipedia, “The Isle of Capri” was a #1 hit in 1935, the year my father turned 12. The music was written by Will Grosz with lyrics by Jimmy Kennedy. The tempo is described as a tango foxtrot but my dad sang it like a ballad. I love those old romantic songs as much as I love pretty pillowcases.
I’m going to put the new cases on our pillows tonight. Maybe I will dream of Capri!
Those pillowcases are so cheerful. In fact, I love all the fabrics you bought. How wonderful that you have that wonderful memory of your dad singing. My dad used to sing all the time. It’s such a wonderful memory of mine too.
What a sweet story, Dawn.
Love, Shirley
Oh Shirley, it is one of our fondest times with Daddy!
I love reading all your blog posts, especially the ones about you and your sister. I lost my sister a couple of years ago and every time I read about you and your sister, it brings me right back to her! Thank you. Do you have a pattern for the DH apron and one for an ironing board cover? Thanks, Chris
Hi Chris. The pattern for the DH’s apron is a very old Simplicity one. I’ll dig it out and email you the pattern number; it may be available through Etsy or another vintage pattern site. My ironing board is a “big board,” made for me by a dear friend’s husband, that sits on top of a standard ironing board. I don’t have an ironing board cover pattern. All I do is cut a fabric rectangle larger than the board and secure it underneath with 2″ T-pins, the kind you can find at wig shops.
Oh Nubs, another fabric buying binge? You have a really, shall we say, advanced case of fabric-stash-itis! Oh well, I shall now think of it as your “adventure” and quit trying to cure you. 😉
By the way, the fabrics in this line are scrumptious!
DH has also dropped attempts at cure. Now we just laugh together, and I buy another book.
Sounds fair!
What a lovely memory of Daddy singing to you. It reminds me of my own Daddy and how important music was in his life, and as a result in our own.
Very cheery! I like them!
Oh what wonderful memories! You brought sweet tears to my eyes today. My dad sang that to me and my siblings too! And what a gorgeous line of fabric!!!
It’s fabulous! I’m going to have to have some. I went to Capri, its was also fabulous!