Pineapple Quilt Block 8X8

I'm enjoying the revival of pineapples, and look forward to sewing more pineapple blocks, but in the meantime thought I'd share a little history. Many antique quilts sport pineapples - often appliqued or in the quilting design itself. Traditionally pineapples mean hospitality. The pineapple as an almost universal symbol of warmth and hospitality has its origins in Spain (“pina” after the pine cone), where villagers placed the fruit at the entrance to a village to welcome visitors.

This symbolism spread to Europe & North America. It is said that in New England ship’s captains would impale a pineapple on their porch railing to announce their return from a voyage and signal that they were accepting visitors. In colonial America, hostesses would set a fresh pineapple in the center of their dining table when visitors joined their families. Visiting was the primary means of entertainment and cultural exchange, so the concept of hospitality was a central element in colonial life.

The pineapple, then, symbolized the warmest welcome a hostess could extend to her guests, and then often it also served as the dessert for the meal. If the visitors spent the night, they would be given a bedroom with a bed in which pineapples had been carved on either the bedposts or the headboard -- even if that was the master bedroom.

I've created an In-The-Hoop "Pineapple Block" for you to dive into and bring out your color skills. The possibilities are endless.

• Design fits the 8X8 hoop size or larger
• Machine formats included: DST, EXP, PES, JEF, VP3, XXX
• Color charts with instructions included in PDF format.