Chris has a way of making every video feel comfortable and familiar. He’s always dressed in a short-sleeve button up shirt made from fun, patterned quilting fabric. A rainbow array of spools and rulers make a topical map out of the pegboard over his shoulder, and when he dives into how-tos, tips and tricks, or current projects, he makes you feel like a friend—like you know him.

Bringing Personality into Every Project

Chris’s first quilt was for his mother-in-law, and then, after he managed that, he started quilting for other friends and family. Eventually, he ran into a quilt idea that didn’t match up with any of the patterns he could find—so he made his own.

Now Chris’s pattern portfolio includes everything from patchwork monstera leaves and raven skulls to the rectangular “Royal Courtyard” pattern inspired by a gorgeous tile floor he ran across on a trip to France. And that’s what makes Chris’s work and his social media channels so special. He so clearly puts pieces of himself and his own story in all the work he does.

Chris expresses his creativity in many ways—with a custom fabric design that he released on May 24th called Damask Fatale (a gorgeous, monochromatic spread of skulls, ribcages, and flourishes that manages to be spooky and elegant at once), with quilted trucker hats, with his DIY-ed Halloween-themed shirts, with his quilts—and he shares that creativity with his community.

Sharing the Spotlight with His Community

Chris is currently creating a quilt made from fabric mailed to him by members of the online quilting community he’s built. This is the second community quilt he’s made. Last year, he received 226 envelopes containing fabric and stories from all over the world. After piecing together all 90 blocks, finishing the quilt took 8 hours and 27 minutes and 237,815 stitches using the Q’nique 16X Elite and Quilter’s Creative Touch automation. Community members placed donations to the Trevor Project to be entered in a raffle to win the completed quilt, and his community donated a total of $9,400. You can check out the completed quilt and its stats here.

So far this year, Chris has only sewed a handful of blocks from donated fabric. In the progress videos, he reads messages from the fabrics’ donators, shining a light on all the people who love his creations and follow along with his content. Chris’s mail bin is already overflowing with packages containing donated fabric and messages of support. He’s still accepting fabric donations through October, so if you want to participate in this awesome project, it’s not too late.

Join Chris’s community and follow along with this quilting project by following him on TikTok and Instagram at @rosecityoriginals.