Patterns of Progress

Less than a century ago, housewives devoted hours to the day-in, day-out drudgery of sewing. Plain sewing was the production of clothing and linens for the household, the task that occupied women throughout their lives. Fancy sewing, the decorative arts such as embroidery and applique, filled women's leisure hours.

Patterns of Progress: Quilts in the Machine Age examines quilts as clues to women's lives, especially women who lived and worked in the West, and to the changes they experienced because of the invention and accessibility of the sewing machine. Amply illustrated with more than 50 beautiful color images of quilts, Barbara Brackman's lively text situates quilts within the culture of the American West. In such a context, quilts become more than just bed coverings: they are cultural artifacts, revealing much about women's lives, their roles, and their perceptions of the world. Brackman also examines the ways in which the sewing machine changed women's aesthetic perceptions of the beauty of their work, and how that aesthetic has evolved to the present day.