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
Subscriber Giveaway for December 2019 – Knitted Animal Nursery by Fiona Goble
Sorry this competition is now closed. The good news is that you can buy the Knitted animal nursery book from the publisher's website at MAKEetc. by clicking on this link: https://makeetc.com/collections/knitting-and-crochet-books/products/knitted-animal-nursery AND: If you enter the code JUSTHANDS before 31 March 2020 at their checkout then you can buy the book for £10 (with free UK P&P) instead of £12.99
Exclusive Prize draw for readers of Regional Guild Magazines
Prize draw is open exclusively to Guild members who read about it their regional Guild magazines.
Quilt Now Readers’ Makes Competition Winner – Issue 70
Quilt Now magazine love to see what their readers have been making. This months Star Make winner for Issue 70 was Sharon. Her version of Naomi Clarke’s Windmill Garden quilt uses Tilda Lazy Days fabric. Great job! Congratulations Sharon.