9-patch is versatile--from scrappy to one-three colors for a single Irish chain. In my quilt class last year, we started on a Trip Around the World, then we did a sampler to learn different techniques. The Log Cabin is one our instructor said she always had trouble with. I think she was just too particular and didn't like to have any mistakes.
Our sampler had a rail fence in it, and it was not as easy as it looked like. Getting the seams exactly 1/4" at the beginning and at the end was my bugaboo. It also could be a Basket Weave. Good luck!!