mis·tral mstrl, m-sträl)
n.
A dry cold northerly wind that blows in squalls toward the Mediterranean coast of southern France.
I fell instantly in love with a quilt pattern named “Mistral” by Toni Whitney. “She” intrigued me- such a beautiful horse. I purchased the kit for two reasons- 1) The artist absolutely new what she was doing 2) I, did not.
My sister Jo had previously made a couple of horse kits into full size quilts for gifts- they were incredible! My Mom always says, we do things different, we can’t ever follow a pattern- and it’s true. I chose this horse to be my challenge. I followed her pattern exactly. Then I did my thing to it …..
It’s funny, what you think you want in a finished quilt can change in an instant. For example in Allie’s Quilt, I based the entire quilt on a particular piece of fabric. It was to be the main fabric and all my picks “became” off of it. It was never used at all. These quilts have a funny way of letting you know.
I had this in mind until I was half way into piecing the face. One fabric made the cut. I have a drawer of fabric collections that I throw together when I’m out & about that I refer to as my “fabric in waiting” You never know when a piece of fabric might inspire me. A while back I had found a gorgeous piece that had a lot of depth & movement to it- I put together some beautiful accompaniments that day and in the drawer it went. I knew that someday I would create a quilt that replicated the circular movement in the fabric. I knew that someday it would come to life. It was a perfect fit for this project ❤
I started the horse on New Year’s Eve day, and worked on it the entire New Year’s Day. I left for Hawaii the next day and had a numb thumb (from cutting like a mad dog those two days) for the entire 9 days lol . In this Picture you will actually see the original background that the horse – was- fused to (17 X 22)… more about that later.
I was excited to watch this quilt develop- I was now in the “circular” mood. After coming up with a block that I was happy with, it literally came together very quickly.
Here you see some of the ivory rolled back and stitched. Such a difference from straight to curved.
Looking good so far…
It’s always nice to get a second & third opinion…
With the brunt of the quilt done, it was now time to figure out the horse measurements and sew her down! The fused horse was peeled off the original background- I know… crazy. And that’s when I had the pleasure of talking to Miss Toni Whitney herself-I never thought she would answer her phone when I was needing more fabric! Now came the sewing of a ton of cut & fused pieces!!! This required a run to the store for perfectly matching thread… this was just a few.
It took two days of sewing the pieces down- I quite enjoyed the process.
Next, it was me outta the gate with putting it all together : ) decisions & measuring…
Just one thing left, the borders….
I could not be more pleased. By the way, the main inspiration fabric ended up as my back. This is now ready for my quilter(s) – yes, two! Terese & Norma are tag teaming on this for possible international quilter competitions. As for me, I will be hopefully heading for the MN State Fair…. We’ll see!
She was a beauty to begin with- Thank you Toni for your unbelievable talent! And I am thrilled to say she’s done and everything I invisioned ❤
mamacarp.com 
All I can say is WOWWW! What an amazing talent you have, I have to share this! 🙂
Thank you !! Who’s this ???
What a beautiful quilt you made! Love the horse in the middle, and love the settings around it! You did an awesome job! Thank you for showing 🙂
Thank you Jacqueline ❤ I had so much fun with this one!
This is a beautiful quilt Teri. I hear it should be arriving at my house sometime today. Thank you for entrusting me with the quilting.
Norma ❤ I am so very excited to see what you've got up your sleeve for this one!! I'm excited for the journey this quilt is about to go on- I can only imagine the finished quilt!! (HAVE FUN!!!)
I am so inspired by your creation. This is just beautiful. I’m glad you shared your process. And I’m hoping you’ll post a photo when the quilting is done!
Your quilt is so beautiful! Did you actually design the surrounding blocks yourself or is it a block pattern. I really liked the curved parts of the block, but I have no idea how you did that. I love Mistral, by Toni Whitney and have done two wall hangings so far. I have fabric for a third one, but I was toying with the idea of putting it in a quilt like you did. I have no clue where to start!
I agree with you on Toni’s talent. However how you added your own talent to hers is speechless. Truly a winning combination. I’m a fan.
Thank you for such a heartfelt comment ❤ It's much appreciated!
Beautiful quilt! What stitch did you use to stitch down the tiny pieces to the background? It looks like a blanket stitch. And how did you get into the tiny points. Thanks.
Hi Traci! It was a small blanket stitch when I get to an area that’s skinny I’ll narrow the width on my stitch then return it to the normal width I was working with- hope this helps!!
Is this a pattern that a person can get somewhere? Do you have any other patterns similar? This is just beautiful and would like to make it for someone special in my family.
Hi Brenda! It is not a kit, the center is that you can purchase from Toni Whitney. We will be selling other patterns in the very near future so stay in touch!
can you tell me the process for making the petal squares in the minstral quilt-horse quilt. I would love to try it. Thank you. Sandy
Hi Sandra, it’s one of my favorite blocks called the Mexican Star! You are going to love it!!
do you have a pattern for this quilt for purchase?
I’m so sorry but no I don’t. The center is a kit from Toni Whitney and the block I added is the Mexican Star, I made this quilt for a competition a few years ago so the fabric is most likely gone but could be easily redone in something similar – hope that helps ♥️