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
Crazy Patch and Embroidery Weekend in Surrey, 20 and 21 September 2025
Date: 20 - 21 September 2025
Location: DeVere Horsley Estate, East Horsley, Surrey
Price: £440 Early Bird Special before 20 March 2025 / £470 after this
Embellish and Decorate Your Work with Karen Crookes.
A Quilt Show Holiday in the Netherlands: De Broodfabriek’s Patchwork & Quiltdagen 2025 at The Hague
A marvellous, multifaceted Dutch Quilting holiday packed with treats to stimulate your creativity. Based in the vibrant city of The Hague, this uplifting tour combines a day at the inspirational Patchwork and Quilt Days show with hands-on workshops and visits to the charming medieval city of Amersfoort and the world famous Mauritshuis Museum.
Sewing Me time Weekend in Surrey, 8 and 9 November 2025
Date: 8 - 9 November 2025
Location: DeVere Horsley Estates, East Horsley, Surrey
Price: £440
Join us for a very special Sewing Me Time weekend. Hang out, get your projects finished, enjoy pampering time at a stunning countryside hotel.