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!