Pineapple

About this block

This is the most complex of the Log Cabin variations, built by piecing strips diagonally around the center square rather than perpendicular to it, creating angled, saw-toothed lines that radiate outward and divide the block into eight wedges. The technique produces spiny, spiked shapes that read as pineapples when alternated in light and dark fabric, and can create the illusion of spinning, wheel-like motion across a finished quilt. The pineapple was a widely recognized symbol of hospitality in colonial and 18th-century decorative arts, and quilt historians believe that symbolism carried directly into this pattern. Museum examples date to the second half of the 19th century, with surviving quilts documented from Pennsylvania and New England. It also carries a couple of regional names, including Maltese Cross and Windmill Blades.