The first place I went looking was Quilting Arts Magazine.  Their website features a Photo Gallery where readers can submit their quilt and fiber art.  This is where the first three examples were located.

“Green in the Middle” by Meta Heemskerk

The fuzzy centers are made from thread and embroidery floss stitched on water-soluble stabilizer.  They are set onto squares of painted Lutradur (a 100% polyester spun bond non-woven translucent web) and mounted on a painted canvas.

“Gandhi Fabric Mosiac Strip Quilt” by Diana’s Art Quilts

Isn’t this amazing?  Especially when you consider that this representation of Mahatma Gandhi is made entirely from ¼-inch rectangles!  Diana states that she made this 18″ x 20″ block as a donation to a theme quilt on racism.

“Sunset” by Sue Bleiweiss

This rectangle in a square was made from hand-dyed silk, rolled and made into cord, and glass beads.

“Rectangle Reunion” by Moran Art and Quilts

This rectangular study is for sale!  Check it out on Etsy…

“3D Squares” by Moran Art and Quilts

Also for sale on Etsy, this quilt truly does give the illusion of three-dimensional floating squares.

“Geometrus 2 (Noonday Walk)” by Kay Haerland

I love this quilt!  Kay says she wanted to see if she could create a landscape using geometric shapes, in this case, rectangles.  Definitely!  This quilt was exhibited at the 2005 Pacific International Quilt Festival XIV and won fourth place for Open Art Quilts at the 2005 Sydney Quilt Show.

“Square Dance Quilt” by Marcia Dean

Even though this quilt is contructed with traditional patchwork, it has a very art quilt feel to it.  It is available for sale at the Cambridge Artists Cooperative.

“Kid’s Garden Trellis” by Ann Anderson

What a fun and vibrant use of rectangles!  This quilt is for sale from Ann Anderson Designs.

“Springtime Forever” by Isabelle Wiessler

Isn’t this a beautiful use of squares?  This quilt understandably earned the Judge’s Choice award in the 2006 Husqvarna Viking Quilt Competition “Imagine That!”

Squares
The humble square is such an important shape in quilts – after all, most quilt blocks are square!  One of the first quilts I ever made was a baby quilt for my neice.  Simple Four Patch blocks alternate with plain squares for a quick and easy, yet pleasing, quilt design.

Another popular quilt design based on a square is the Irish Chain and all its many variations.  This version is a Triple Irish Chain.

I made this Irish Chain quilt using fabric prints that blend gradually from one to the next to create a colorwash effect.  What a difference!  It becomes more difficult to discern the shape of each square patch when the edges are less defined.

When a square is set on point, it looks more like a diamond.  The Arbor Window quilt block features squares set on point.  Technically, this block requires triangles to finish the edges, but they are barely visible in the quilt design.

Rectangles
The first block made of rectangles that comes to mind is Rail Fence.  I’ve made a couple Rail Fence quilts because they are so quick and easy – with no matching required!  Unfortunately, these quilts were made before the era of digital photography so I don’t have any pictures readily available.  Here’s an EQ6 Rail Fence design:

Another popular rectangular quilt design is the Log Cabin.  Traditionally, this block has a square in the center, but here’s a version with a rectangle in the middle.

I searched a little further and came across a very interesting block, also made entirely from rectangles, called Rainbow Steps.  There are so many effects that can be created from this block, and here are three examples done in EQ6.

 Next week:  triangles.