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Quilts by Lindsey Wilson University Professor Pay Tribute to Malvina Farkle Day

Counseling professor Melissa Doan turns leftover T-shirts from day of service into keepsakes for university's employees, alumni and friends.

by Duane Bonifer

COLUMBIA, Ky. (12/16/2025) — Lindsey Wilson University professor Melissa Doan is turning t-shirts from an iconic annual Lindsey Wilson event into cherished keepsakes.

Doan recently started to create quilts out of leftover T-shirts from Malvina Farkle Days, Lindsey Wilson's annual day of service. She has given the quilts to university employees, alumni and friends. She's created eight quilts so far, with plans to produce the next two for Bob's Basket, the university's student-assistance program.

That's not bad for someone who took up quilting only a few years ago. Before that, Doan said she crocheted to pass the time during cold-weather months. Her mother, Gay Ratz, an experienced quilter, offered tips on how to turn leftover T-shirts into a comforting quilt.

"Three or four years ago, I just decided to figure it out, and I wound up making everyone a quilt for Christmas," said Doan, a counseling professor who lives in Westmoreland, Tennessee. "I enjoy doing things outside, but to keep me moving and motivated, crocheting and sewing help me in the winter. I just like to create, creating is my self-care. And it's pretty to see what comes out of it."

Although Doan has made eight Malvina Farkle Day quilts thus far, she doesn't have any examples of her work to show off at home.

"I have mine in a stack of T-shirts," she said. "I say, 'I'll eventually make my own,' but I haven't done it yet."

It takes Doan about a day to make a quilt, assuming she can get all the materials she needs. Living in a town of about 2,000 people on the Kentucky-Tennessee border means that a store with all of the materials needed to create a quilt is about 45 minutes away.

After she fashions some Malvina Farkle Day quilts for Bob's Basket, Doan has her sights set on creating a quilt made of T-shirts from all Lindsey Wilson athletics teams and student organizations that could be displayed on one of the university's walls.

And she plans to continue to create Malvina Farkle Day quilts for members of the Lindsey Wilson community.

"I think for most people getting a quilt is special because it's knowing that someone took the time to make something for you," she said. "You can go out and buy a $5 or $10 throw any day of the week. But for someone to make something that is specifically for you is sentimental and special."

Lindsey Wilson University is a vibrant liberal arts university in Columbia, Kentucky. Founded in 1903 and affiliated with The United Methodist Church, the mission of Lindsey Wilson is to serve the educational needs of students by providing a living-learning environment within an atmosphere of active caring and Christian concern where every student, every day, learns and grows and feels like a real human being. Lindsey Wilson offers 28 undergraduate majors, five graduate programs and a doctoral program. The university's 29 intercollegiate varsity athletic teams have won more than 120 team and individual national championships.

Media Attachments

Lindsey Wilson University professor Melissa Doan, center, is flanked by Assistant Vice President President of Educational Outreach Tommie Ann Saragas, left, and Lindsey WIlson School of Professional Counseling Regional Academic Director Kimberly Brown as they display a Malvina Farkle Day quilt Doan made for Brown and Saragas. The three were students together in the university’s graduate program in counseling.

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