The Sta. Barbara Bobbin Lace project by the Women United Through Handicrafted Lace and Embroidery (WUTHLE) located at Western Visayas Sanitarium in Barangay Inangayan, Sta. Barbara, Iloilo made a beginning with passing the gratitude forward.
In 1985, two you girls, both daughters of patients gave Sister Madeiline Dieryck, a Belgian ICM Missionary Sister a self-made and beautifully embroidered handkerchief in appreciation of her kindness and care of the Hansenites at the Sanitarium.
Sister Madeiline saw possibilities beyond the gift and she requested the two girls to make more embroidered tokens that will be given to the benefactors so that orders came in and the two girls taught ex-Hansenites especially the women of the craft. However, some of the women workers could not hold a needle because of the deformities on their hands. When Sister Madeiline went back to Belgium she learned how to make bobbin lace to help those who are having a hard time with embroidery using the needles.
Eventually, after her return at the Sanitarium bobbin lace making grew that the small project became a corporation in 1996.
Today, the facility is open to the public who can request any design, materials, colors and sizes. Design of embroidery includes birds, flowers, butterflies that can be applied to table cloths, handkerchiefs and bags.
Embroidery and bobbin lace have been incorporated in wedding gowns and other dresses of the clients who have visited the center.