About Vendulka
Vendulka Battais is an award winning textile artist, tutor and half of the couple running textile studio OliVen in the heart of Suffolk.
Vendulka started her creative journey making clothes from remnants with her mum in the Czech Republic. She learned simple patchwork when she moved to the UK and was looking for a new hobby. From squares and triangles, Vendulka’s work evolved into quilting, embroidery, and circular patterns inspired by mandalas and dreamcatchers.
It was this growing passion which led her to start her own patchwork and quilting shop with her partner, Olivier, on the Isle of Wight in 2011. It’s called OliVen. In 2015, they moved family and shop to the village of Monks Eleigh in Suffolk.
Vendulka loves to make patchwork quilts, teach patchwork in the shop, travel to teach groups and demonstrate at shows.
Somehow she found the time to publish a wonderful book, Cathedral Windows – New Views, and win the Best in Show Award at Festival of Quilts 2021. This is what the judges had to say about the work: “a wonderful collaboration of design and workmanship. We loved the variety of feathers and their balance of glorious colour. A masterclass in the stitching of an intricate Mandala, together with precise use of the glitter liner medium.”
Signature Technique
Bringing embroidery into quilting
Top Tips
- Glittery and metallic paint on fabric brings a project to life – especially in the dark!
- Create an enhanced 3D effect on Cathedral windows with folded patchwork, padding, and a new colour twist.
- Combine different elements such as machine quilting and hand embroidery. It’s a joy to work on and the result is stunning.
Videos
Patterns
Posts
2nd May 2014
Meet Kate Findlay A teacher and textile artist who has [...]
What did we film? It’s a mystery!
We have a Midsummer Mystery in store for you! More details will be posted in a video promo film later in May; but essentially you will be given instructions each hour throughout the day and as it's the longest day of the year you should still be in daylight! There are 10 parts - the sewing is straightfoward - there will be some rotary cutting but not much - and you will be feed the information piecemeal so that the mystery remains until the end!
Gives a whole new meaning to beading
Found through my facebook page and I thought it worth sharing: You're probably thinking this VW was "yarn-bombed" or modge-podged, but you'd be wrong on BOTH counts! This VW was actually BEADED! It took 8 bead artisans over 9000 hours to accomplish this look! --- https://bit.ly/1mRKMdx