Thinking about it more, I suspect that pattern blocks would work best ( if you decide to use blocks at all). They are a small, fixed set of shapes that are easily combined. Tangrams ( at least the ones i used) only make a square one way. Other than that, they are combined to make representative shapes, like boats or birds, which could be set into a square block but wouldn't be as representative of quilting. Paper-piecing, maybe.
Hugs,
charlotte