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, author 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.