Tutorial and A Pineapple Welcome Mini

As soon as this little mini quilt popped in my email from Pinterest ages ago, I knew I wanted to make one for our front door.  The happy yellow, the cheerful greens and the adorable striped border just sang out to me.  I know pineapple quilts were all over the place a while ago, so we’re a little late to the party.  Better late than never though, right?!

Pineapple cuteness from Sassafras Lane

Why A Pineapple Welcome

Back in the olden days and as far back as Columbus in 1493, pineapples were very rare and very expensive.  They were brought over to the U.S. from Europe on ships, and only the most wealthy could afford to have a pineapple grace their table.  Guests were honored by the rarity and knew that no expense was spared to ensure a pleasant experience.  This came to symbolize a sense of hospitality.  It is as a symbol of friendship and hospitality that I wish to welcome all visitors into our home.

Pineapple Layout

Using Sassafras Lane’s basic layout, we decided to make a few changes to the mini quilt to make it just slightly bigger.  The original pattern called for 1.5″ squares, which with the added borders made the entire mini 8.5″ x 11.5″.  I wanted it to be big enough to cover the window in our front door, and to be more easily visible from the street.  We made the switch to 2.5″ squares.  When the borders were added, ours finishes at 12″ x 18″.

Of course, this pattern calls for a few half square triangles.  That meant I had to do a bit of trimming but not as much as was needed for the recent Postcard from Sweden quilt.  Here’s our finished pineapple before quilting.  I knew I wanted to try the triangle hanger method that Karen (Ta-Na Quilts) shared on her blog post, Bind It Up.  She suggests sewing 5″ squares, folded into triangles into each corner before attaching the binding.  Hmm, I wonder if those would be too big for this?  I cut some 3″ squares and folded them in half.  Then they were tacked down with the barest of stitching until I added the binding.

Pineapple Goodness

The crisp white background, and the nice straight line quilting (about 1/2″ apart) just make this an all around winner for me!  There is nothing I do not like about it! I hope our family and  friends feel the love and welcoming wish we have for each of them as they enter our home.  What do you think?  Isn’t it cute?!

We love this so much that we are going to make a few more mini quilts just for the front door!  And as a note to myself – buy some black and white striped fabric since we don’t have any and I love the look of it, especially in a binding!

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