A woman from Keith is lifting spirits by leaving Christmas surprises for strangers to find.
Tracy Chalmers is spreading some Christmas cheer everywhere she goes by leaving knitted hats behind.
The 45-year-old came up with the idea after finally splurging on a knitting machine she had wanted for over a year.
Hoping to “give people some joy over the Christmas period”, Mrs Chalmers decided to knit hats and leave them in different places across Moray and Aberdeenshire.
So far, she has left a “wooly act of kindness” in Keith, Newmill, Fochabers, Lossie, Portknockie and Banff.
‘Give people joy’
Speaking to the Press & Journal, she says she “just loves to knit” in her spare time and can’t think of a better way to spread some “Christmas joy”.
When leaving her hats places, she pops a message with a QR code that links to her website in the bag, so that people can tag her when they find one.
And after only starting her new tradition a couple of weeks ago, she is amazed at how far some of her hats have travelled.
One of her hats found a new home in Germany after a lady found it while visiting Scotland, who told her she will “remember this beautiful place even more”.
Another hat made its way to Cornwall after being found by someone at Castlehill in Cullen.
She said: “People from all over the world have found my hats. I just love doing it. I wanted to do something for Christmas time”.
When asked why she leaves hats in a variety of places, she told us how she likes to go for walks every day, as she has three cocker spaniels.
Adding: “I like to go somewhere different every week – whether it’s Elgin, Buckie or Keith”.
Tracy Goes Outside
Having walked to different parts of Scotland for years, she decided to set up an online blog called Tracy Goes Outside – to share her adventures – which has accumulated over 12,000 followers on Facebook.
Receiving lots of encouragement from her husband Graham, she says he often wonders if someone visiting from America will find a hat.
She has a few more hats ready to go out this week, but also plans on continuing her gift giving in the new year.
Saying the knitting and walking go hand in hand, she is over the moon that both her hobbies “have turned into something a bit more special”.
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