Where NeedleWork and Community Collide

Molly, owner of The Knotty Goat, has been crocheting and knitting since the beginning of time. There aren’t too many places you will see Molly without her stitching. It is her passion to create with her hands using beautiful textures of fiber. But the craft of knitting and crocheting isn’t the only thing that brings Molly joy; it is the diverse community of creators she gets to be part of.

Molly had long dreamed of having a yarn shop of her own. Everywhere she traveled she’d pop into local yarn shops, soaking up the beautiful atmosphere of color and collaboration. Of course, that’s where she wanted to be—those were her people, they spoke her language. When the opportunity presented itself for her to buy Castaway Yarn Shop, with her family and friends’ encouragement, she took the leap.

Mary is a retired nurse who spent most of her career in Emergency Care. She has been knitting for 12 years and many of our store samples are hers. She is energetic and works hard to keep our yarn stock organized, fluffed, and current. Mary enjoys helping knitters and crocheters with patterns and yarns.

Pairing colors is one of Mary’s many talents. As one of our primary kit makers, she can help you find the perfect pairings between patterns, color, and fiber. Mary feels like she is living a dream working with a wonderful community of knitters and crocheters surrounded by luscious fibers.

Kendra learned to crochet and embroider before she learned to knit, but knitting has become what she enjoys most. During her life she has dabbled in almost every kind of handcraft, including painting, tin work, minor woodworking, rug hooking, needlepoint, and glass work. No matter what caught Kendra’s interest, knitting is what she always returned to.

One of Kendra’s gifts is problem-solving—not only fixing knitting and crocheting mistakes, but finding ways to help our shop run efficiently and smoothly. Working with customers, staff, and yarn brings her great satisfaction. At age 18, her first real job was working in a yarn shop, so she has come full circle.

Martha D. grew up in Minnesota. Columbia has been her home since 1993, where she worked as a professor of law at Mizzou. In retirement, Martha chose knitting as her new passion. She learned to sew at an early age and became an accomplished seamstress. Her wealth of information and experience with fiber and textiles fuels her curiosity about garment construction and fit.

That experience also informs her knitted garment construction, making her a perfect instructor for the Cocoknits Method of Sweater Construction. She has led many classes and will continue to lead more in the future.

Sadie is a graduate student at Mizzou studying physics. She is easily recognizable by her fun-colored hair and awesome hand-stitched sweaters. Sadie began crocheting in 2021 because she wanted to make blankets, then started knitting in 2023 because she wanted to make sweaters.

Sadie loves sharing ideas about projects, patterns, and yarn, and gets excited when you share your projects with her. She is an encourager, making her a perfect fit for leading KALs and CALs and helping match patterns with the perfect fiber. She is also a test-knitter for several knitwear designers.

At an early age, Susan Gemming learned from her grandmother to knit, crochet, embroider, and needlepoint. She has tried many crafts over the years and even had her own craft business. Susan is a retired elementary teacher and mother to three adult children. Recently, she returned to knitting, focusing on scarves and afghans for her grandchildren. She enjoys the friendships she has made through her weekly stitch group.

Susan keeps busy with her five grandchildren and shares her love of crafts with them. In her spare time, Susan and her husband Craig enjoy traveling and camping in national parks—and her knitting bag always accompanies her.

Susan’s experience and teaching background make her a perfect fit for teaching knitting lessons and classes at The Knotty Goat.

Susan’s mother taught her to knit when she was a teenager. Her mother had learned only a year before she started teaching Susan, so they learned much together. Completing the TKGA Master Hand Knitting Course gave Susan the focus, direction, and confidence to begin publishing her designs on Ravelry. This led to professional design work for Done Roving Yarns.

We are very fortunate to have her on our team!

Britney learned to knit and crochet in elementary school—though crochet held her attention until college, when knitting really took hold. A graduate of MACC in Mechatronics, she loves that knitting blends creativity and technical precision. She knitted her first sweater in December 2024 and hasn’t looked back.

When she’s not crafting shawls and sweaters or experimenting with new techniques, Britney enjoys participating in Funny Car Drag Races with her dad, where she helps in the pit. She finds joy in the math behind knitting, especially modifying patterns and making them her own.

Britney gravitates toward cool colors like blues, greens, teals, and purples and dreams of designing her own patterns.