With narrow strips in a log cabin, you have the prospect of a *lot* of seams to hand quilt through. One solution is to just hand quilt a line through the middle of each log. You can spiral, or make concentric squares to minimize the seam allowances you have to cross. With wider strips, you have the option of outlining 1/4-inch inside each strip, never crossing a seam allowance.
I'm not paranoid about pressing seams open if the seams are made by machine. The original reason to press seams to the side was to strengthen hand-pieced seams. Machine-pieced seams are strong enough. I wouldn't use a polyester batting or wool batting with seams pressed open, though, because of the higher risk of "bearding" through the seams. (As far as I know, cotton batting does not beard.)
I think it would be a pain to press seams open for log cabin blocks, though. It's more difficult and time-consuming to press a seam open than it is to press it to the side. The big reason to press seams open is to achieve better accuracy for intricately pieced designs.