I had just started to make quilts when I visited that most romantic of cities, Venice. Back then, I had a three-month-old and a three-year-old in tow, so I had no time for romance! Instead, I spent my time in the city's grand public places. What captivated me most? While hundreds wandered by, gazing up at vaulted ceilings covered in gold mosaic, I kept my head bent, studying what lay under my feet. There, in chips of marble, were the familiar patterns of the American prairie - Sawtooth Star, Flying Geese, Diamond in the Square, Double Wedding Ring - all set together in a maze of color and pattern on the floor.

Finally, I made some patterns of my favorite designs and taught an adult education class. My students were fantastic! They not only tested the patterns, they ran with them, adapting them to suit their own sense of style. Before you begin, take some time to be inspired by the student quilts that appear throughout the General Instructions.

I strongly urge you to read the General Instructions before you select your project. While some of the sewing methods may already be familiar to you, I've found some twists and refinements that are very useful and time saving for these particular quilts. Reading the section first could encourage you to try a quilt you might have thought too difficult. The stunning Venice Rose design (pictured at right), for example, is very straightforward and simple to construct, and there are limitless ways to vary the coloration. Other designs offer you many opportunities to use quilting and appliqué in place of piecing. You may even find that tangent circles and curved seams are easier to construct than you think!

I hope this book of quilts inspired by the floors of Italy will inspire you as much as the floors inspired me. I claim no special design credit for these beautiful patterns. Artists long dead created them, but you can recreate them using traditional quiltmaking techniques. In the Resources and Supplies section, you'll find a list of books that offer more information about these floors, as well as places to see them should you be lucky enough to go to Italy.

Now, ed ora cuciamo. Let's get sewing!

- by Norah McMeeking, excerpted from Bella Bella Quilts

Bella Bella Quilts
Stunning Designs from Italian Mosaics
by Norah McMeeking

Bring Renaissance Italy home with paper-pieced mosaics

• Quilt designs based on beautiful mosaics bring the Italian Renaissance into your home
• Familiar quilting shapes in new combinations and settings yield exquisite, intricate-looking designs
• 8 stunning quilt projects in a variety of sizes, or create your own variations
• Full-sized paper-piecing patterns for most quilts
• Also available - Bella Bella Quilts Paper Foundations

64 pages color + 3 pullouts, softcover, ISBN: 1-57120-304-4