Dear Lue,
Sorry you are laid up. Think about this idea.Take scraps or colors that you used in the log cabin block and maybe coordinating colors. Strip them. Run the pieced colors on the sides. You could use maybe 2 1/2 inches and a larger, maybe 4 inches for instance. Making long strips of multi colored pieces and sewing the more narrow on one side and the wider on the other. Or alternating them. That would give you added colors without specific patterns.
I saw this idea in an American Quilter Magazine. It's called Dimensional Scrap Quilt by Nancy Zieman. It's a neat quilt and you might be able to use some of the ideas of the quilt with yours.