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
November 2009
Lots to tell you about this month, but before [...]
Full Screen arrives!
Val: Well, we've got there! You will now be able to enlarge the picture to Full Screen on all the video clips that have been posted this month (i.e. those you can see the thumbnails of on the Home Page). How do you do it? Well, at the bottom of the screen, to the rh side you will find a little box with an arrow pointing up to the top rh corner, press that and hey-presto, full screen.
How to sew 1/4″ seam allowance
The sewing of an accurate seam allowance is very important in patchwork; the standard is ¼” and several sewing machine manufacturers have made special feet to help this. However, if you don’t have one of these, don’t despair, this video shows you how to set your machine to do this.www.justhands-on.tv/videos/1/