I just got a copy of a book from 1961 called "American Needlework" published by Woman's Day. The author is Rose Wilder Lane, daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder. In the chapter on patchwork Lane talks about using the sewing machine to piece quilt tops. She says:
"This will horrify some, but I was a pioneer child; I know how pioneer women welcomed the marvelous machine, incredulously admired its swiftness and its perfect stitching, and thanked God for easing women's work. Where your tool is a needle or tamed electricity, your patchwork is your own; you can express yourself in pattern and colors and way of working."