I use solids and I use prints - I also like to throw in a few batiks also.. I love the traditional log cabin. I have done it in browns and it is very rich looking - I can see one polka dot, but not two- they look alike. I also know that a yellow center represents the light in the window and the red center represents the warmth of the home. I have always used red regardless of what color the block is done in. Also, I always put (when I am makiing a sampler, which is my favorite quilt of all) the Log Cabin in the center of the quilt. You can explain to the person that that is the most important block because it represents the home and that is the center of all. I have two quilts in the works and one has the Log cabin and that quilt is done in pinks and blues, yellows and greens - all pastel. It is not easy to find a dark pastel. The next quilt I do will be a Pinwheel, but the center will be the Log Cabin matching blues and tans. So, thata's what I do. I do like the choice of the yellow or red center and I think the yellow with your colors will be beautiful. Be sure and tell the person what the yellow stands for. That's what makes the quilt the quilt. I always write a little book with it and tell what each block means and how it pertains to the person I am making the quilt for. Then they feel like it is totally personalized, which it is. Edie