Welcome to the board. I get a daily email from the board.
As for status- it depends on how active you are but I don't pay much attention to that.
As for quilting supplies- I have some of my personal favorites:
Missouri Star Quilt Company- wonderful fabrics, and Jenny has a tutorial every Friday. They are so much fun and I've made many of her quilts.
Love fabric.com as well. Craftsy is another good site.
I don't buy much locally anymore. I love buying online. I like certain lines of fabric, such as Moda, Michael Miller, Jinny Beyer and others. Once you know what you like it's easy (and dangerous lol) to find what you want.
I get supplies from a number of sources- even Amazon.