Huddersfield knitters Elaine Barden and her friend Nancy Baxter raise cash for Motor Neurone Disease Association

Apr 29 2010 Huddersfield Daily Examiner

A HUDDERSFIELD woman has charity fundraising all stitched up!

Elaine Barden, 64, and her friend Nancy Baxter, 75, have knitted 300ft of scarves to raise £900 for the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association.

Over the last 12 months the pair have been elbow-deep in yarn, making up to four, foot-long scarves each, per night.

Mrs Barden, from Newsome, was inspired by her late husband, Ian Gibson, who died 20 years ago from MND.

A lifelong knitter, Mrs Barden and her friend Nancy, a fellow member of MND Association Huddersfield, decided to put their skills to good use.

Word of their snazzy scarves, made from Firefly yarn, spread across Huddersfield and the pair spent most nights knitting.

Mrs Barden, a retired computer operator for ICI, said: “I saw someone wearing one and thought: ‘I could do that’.

“It’s spread by word of mouth and by people seeing other people wearing them, liking them and wanting to buy one.

“I’ve been doing this every single night I’ve stayed in and there are still people asking for them.

“It’s quite an achievement to sell 300 scarves by word of mouth. I think we lost track of how many we sold.’’