Welcome to Arizona! I have lived here for almost 20 years and love it here! Yes, it gets hot in the summer, but I wouldn't trade the heat for slipping on the ice and freezing my toes! :D I love this time of year with our pleasant afternoons and cool sleeping weather.
In March, the Arizona Quilters Guild has its annual show. This year it will be at the Mesa Convention Center. You must come!!! Last year there were over 400 quilts and lots of great vendors too.
The Valley of the Sun/Phoenix area has a lot of really nice quilt shops too. I think there must be at least 20! I live in Surprise (northwest area near Sun City) and we just got our first quilt shop, The Quilted Cactus, in September. A friend just told me yesterday that a new one,The Olde Quilt Shoppe, opened recently on Cave Creek Road(north Phoenix/Scottsdale area). Pick up a free copy of the Country Register at a quilt shop and they will be advertised in there. Quilting is alive and well here in Phoenix even though our weather doesn't get to freezing much.