Beginner's patchwork cushion

This is a hand-quilted patchwork cushion I've been making. Got it finished today because we were off work for a Bank Holiday.

During the Easter holidays I picked up a beginners' book about quilting in the Gem Shop, Castle Douglas, as well as a few Fat Quarters.
Yeah, like I needed more craft stuff in the house.

Although I didn't follow any pattern to the letter, it did inspire me to make this quilted cushion, or pillow as the book would have it.

I chose this layout and colour scheme because I liked it, but I've since found out that Alex Anderson, the author of my book, is pretty famous in the quilting domain and has her own quilting programme in the USA called "Simply Quilts" on HGTV. (My upload method just now won't let me do you a link, but that information should be enough to get you there.)

Anyway, I've been reading up on it and watching the video clips on the Simply Quilting site and found out that this is an analogous colour scheme, and an "Trip around the World" block setting. I've found the whole thing very interesting, and following some leads I have found out a hundred things about COLOUR THEORY, about which I was almost entirely ignorant before. Fascinating stuff.

Look out for some more patchwork and quilting from me in the future, but for now I leave you with this "Blue Monday", thanks DH, cushion.

The back is done with a 20" inch square of the "interest" fabric.
I had to fudge like there was no tomorrow because I forgot about the seam allowance.
I had to "make it work" because I had no fall-back fabric for the back of the cushion, but that meant stitching in part of the pattern for the patchwork squares on the front. Or should I say , shapes on the front, once I'd done my shaving they weren't squares anymore.

Not a particularly clear picture, but I am pleased at the way the zip insertion went.
I did this section by hand as I was working with varying widths of fabric (varying numbers of layers).

Trying out the layout of the pieces.
Sometimes I can see crafty things more objectively when I photograph them and appraise how they come over visually.