We are pleased to welcome you as a new member of the INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP QUILTERS (IFQ). You have 
joined an international community of quilters who are interested in sharing, learning and "quilting beyond the borders".
What to do first? There are so many things to do at IFQ, it can get a little overwhelming! Let us give you a few suggestions on how to get started.
PASSWORDS: If you have any questions about passwords and logging in, please check the password help page under the "Help" menu.
IFQ FORUM & CHAT AREAS: One of the first places you should visit upon becoming a member of the IFQ, is the IFQ Forum area. You can get there by going to the side menu bar on every page, holding your cursor over "Communications" and choosing "Forum". 
What is the IFQ Forum? It's a great way to communicate with your new IFQ friends across the world! Think of it as a giant bulletin board where IFQ members post messages. It is divided up into categories so you can find an area that interests you and start reading and posting messages!! Remember that you must be logged in to post messages.
There is a "NEWCOMER'S CORNER" forum which is a great place to find information or to post any questions that you might have. A very good idea for your first visit is to go to the NEWCOMER'S CORNER and introduce yourself by posting a short message about yourself. You'll find that IFQ members are always happy to welcome new members!
If you have never "chatted" before, you're in for a treat! The IFQ Chat room is a wonderful place to meet other quilters from around the world and make new friends! How does it work? You can find the "CHAT" link in the main menu bar, or you can use the chat link on the top of the forum page. The same log in for the forum (your username and password) works in the chat room. Once you have logged in, you will see a list of rooms that are available to chat in. The ol' Diamond Lounge is the general area and where you are most likely to find the most people. On the far right of the Room list, it will tell you how many people are in each room. Just click on the room name and you'll come into the room.
Make sure your window is enlarged, because that will make it easier (in Windows, you do this by clicking the middle box in the upper right corner of the window). If there are other people in the room, you will see their names listed in the box on the right. You will be able to type a message to them (in the box at the bottom by the "SEND" button) and "talk" to them in real time. The messages appear in the center. You'll be surprised how addicting it is to chat with your new IFQ friends!
IFQ TOWN CRIER: Under the side menu option "Communications", you will find the "IFQ
Town Crier". This is an important page to check frequently. Our Town Crier serves as our newspaper and he always lets us know about current and future events. This area will soon have links to other member news areas too! So it's good to get into the habit of checking this page.
IFQ CALENDAR: This is another good information point since all the dates of the various events are listed here. If you click on the calendar item, a more detailed window will open up with further information and times. Remember, since IFQ is based in California, an event might be listed on a Friday which actually occurs on Saturday if you are in Australia, New Zealand or that half of the world. We learn a lot about time zones at IFQ since IFQ members are spread all over the world!
CURRENT IFQ ACTIVITIES: These change all the time, but you can find the main pages for these events by holding your cursor over Current Events menu category. We also have Ongoing IFQ Activities that you can sign up for at any time.
IFQ PICTURE GALLERIES: IFQ Members share pictures of their work since this is one of the best ways for quilters to get to know one another. Be sure to check out these 
galleries! You can also post pictures by clicking on the Picture posting link under the IFQ GALLERY menu item. You must be logged in to post a picture. Choose the gallery in which you would like the picture to be displayed, fill out the information and find the picture file on your computer by clicking on the "BROWSE" button on the form. There are hints to prepping your picture under the IFQ GALLERY menu too!
IFQ FUN: Be sure to find out your Sewing Horoscope from IFQ's own Sightless Sewing Seer, Madame BlindHem. She's quite fond of her drink 
(hence the "sightless" part!) but she does look into the stars to reveal our sewing futures! Her best gal pal, Celluloid Sally, reviews movies, books or sometimes just goes off on a tangent!! If you frequent the chat room, you may run into this duo! There are also quilting crossword puzzles to try!
IFQ RECIPE EXCHANGE: What's the next best thing to quilting? Why, eating of course! Be sure to share your favourite recipes with other IFQ members on the IFQ Recipe page.
As you can see, there is lots to do on the IFQ website. You'll find that the more you participate, the more fun you will have. You'll find lots of people willing to help you find your way around too!
We're happy to welcome you as a member of IFQ and look forward to getting to know you!
James