THE feminine camaraderie fostered by sewing quilts stitches together a fascinating look back at our American heritage via the Windward Community Theatre Players' production of "Quilters." This striking collection of character sketches transcends ethnicity in celebrating the enduring importance of family, faith, thrift, hard work, and love.

"Quilters" opens with the reminiscences of Sarah Macendrie Bonem (Cecilia Fordham) as she starts what she expects to be her final quilt. The memories she shares with her daughters become the springboard for a fascinating journey.

The stories come from the letters and diaries of pioneer women.

Each of the nine women in the cast skillfully plays a primary character and several secondary roles.

A woman (Christine Higaki) recalls a winter so cold that the cattle froze to death outside while her little sister was dying beside her. Another woman (Laura Wright) recalls how her husband was hit by a train and brought home in a basket. A scrap of cloth in an unfinished quilt gives an adopted child (Shawna Saiki) a link to her long-dead natural mother (Caroline Denyes).

It isn't all grim. In one of the funniest bits, Sarah Evans is perfect as a young girl telling how she created a special quilt to play a trick on her sister. In another, the first girl in a clique to have her period (Meghann Wright) is ostracized by the others and earnestly asks God why this thing has to happen to her. Time passes, and eventually the only girl who hasn't passed that milestone (Evans) earnestly asks God why this thing isn't happening to her.

Debra-Ann Leolani Shea-Mirante, Maile Smith and Tara Wright also distinguish themselves in multiple roles. Michael Harada's set morphs from dug-out to wagon to river bank to windmill.

What: "Quilters"
When: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through Nov. 23
Where: Little Theatre, Windward Community College
Tickets: $8 general admission, $6 students, seniors and military
Call: 235-7446