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
Take 9 variation from Tina
Tina came to our weekend retreat with some wonderful turquoise fabrics AND a fabric with the pink ribbon logo of Cancer Rearch and wanted to make her dear friend a quilt; not only did we redesign the front blocks - a version of the Take 9 that others were working on - but we worked on the back too and while the quilt wasn't finished in the weekend - it is now!
Dresden Plate from Joyce
I would like to show you my Dresden Plate lap quilt which I have just finished. It is such a delightful pattern and I might try something with the tucks in as Jenny demonstrates. May I say how much I enjoyed today's workshop of Jenny's Origami Hexagon. we could not have a - it was just lovely. Many thanks.
Crazy Patchwork options
Question from Anna: Can one use an oblong or has it got to be a square? (You made yours 9 3/4 inches, I, on the other hand, could make mine 9" X 11.5")
I am aware that this then would limit the way one could put them together. With a square one can rotate 4 times, with an oblong it works only two ways.) Answer:
You can of course tinker with this as you wish but the 5 sided figure in the middle gives the more traditional look; sewing is much easier with a 4 sided centre but then you run the risk of it looking a little like log cabin - which again may be your choice.
As you say with a rectangular finish then you can only turn the blocks in the opposite direction rather than rotating them in your finished design.