Squares vs Rectangles

In all my musings about quilts and designs while I go about my daily life, during those times that I don't get the opportunity to cut and sew, I occasionally  think about quilt shape.

Squares vs Rectangle -shaped quilts?

Recently the quilts I've worked on are square quilts. Diamond Daze, Starburst, and now the Swoon.  And I find myself shying away from the squares, and adding wider and narrower borders to make the quilts rectangular.

Vs the original design by www.happyquiltingmelissa, blogspot.com

Why do I do that????

Here are some possibilities that I thought of:

1--I graduated in Home Economics Education. Part of the interior design curriculum is the thought/design element 

that slightly rectangular rooms are more pleasing to the eye, and are easier to fit furniture and objects into. Ever wonder why most picture frames are rectangular, and not square?

2--beds are rectangular, so why make a square quilt for a bed? And not have the whole bed covered?

3--my hubby has a good idea and it's quite funny and quite a bit true: people have forgotten what a quilt is supposed to be used for: keeping you warm in and out of bed. His opinion is that a quilt is NOT a decoration, but a beautiful bed covering. A hand-carved headboard is art, but it is still a bed. An object of beauty or work of art, can and should still have a function.

4--Another thought from my hubby: think houses, churches, clothes: a hundred and fifty years ago, before the industrial revolution, everyone had to do things by hand, and always put their best work into the job. Things had to last a long time. Every piece was different and hand-crafted and looked like a work of art.

These days, everything is mass-produced and assembly-lined and identical, because that is what is cheapest and most economical and easiest thing. So hand-made has become a huge novelty now, and crafters pour their best efforts and talents and best materials into their items. Those items are valued so highly for the amount of time and effort, that they have become treasures to be displayed, and not used for their purpose and loved.

What do you think? What shape do you prefer to make your quilts?