I love yellow in a soft buttercream tone & have painted the inside & outside of my home in this color. It is really just a warmer neutral than white, which I find too sterile & cold. I would use a warm soft yellow in many quilts, as a neutral, in place of white. I'm not fond of a bright yellow, except for toddler & childrens items, but know that a bright yellow was loved by some of my elders in the 1930's with bright reds & white.
Blue & yellow work well together, & are a friendly combination. Perhaps the reason people didn't buy the yellow fabrics produced is they may have been too far out of tint & shade from what quilters were looking for. I like a bright yellow gold with orange tones to work with purple also, but I wouldn't want them in a geometric print.