I'm late to the party, having just joined the board yesterday, but I wanted to share with you that there are several quilting traditions in the US that use what some might consider unconventional color combinations. The women who made, and continue to make, those quilts choose the colors because that's what they're drawn to. They enjoy working with them, they appreciate the end result, and there is nothing wrong with those quilts.
I'm with the others who say, quilt what makes you happy! Don't throw away your art based on someone's hurtful critique. Your work is YOURS, no one else's, and you deserve to LOVE it.
You asked for advice as to choosing colors that go together. My advice is, choose the colors that look beautiful to you, and make you HAPPY.
I want to share a story with you. My oldest son is color blind. When he was younger, he liked to build model planes. But he couldn't tell you what paint color was what. Well, one day when our son was a teenager, my husband came home to discover that he had run out of paint, and had mixed his own. It matched absolutely perfectly. No question. You would have thought it was store bought paint. My husband asked him what color it was, and his response was "I don't know, I just needed more."
I understand that this is a challenge for you, but... Listen to the others here. Do what makes you happy. Don't sit at your sewing machine and make a quilt to satisfy someone else. Sit at your machine for you!