My mother told me that they made utilitarian quilts when she was a girl. They were strictly to keep people warm. They were mostly log cabin because they were making them out of old clothes (primarily her brother's wool pants) and they could cut a lot of strips out of them. She never mentioned trying to make them pretty. She just said they did them all by hand with some of the girls cutting the strips and others sewing them together.
My father's mother on the other hand was more affluent. She could afford to buy fabric to make her quilts. They were definitely made with an eye to color and design.