Quilting as a metaphor

"[In] my 'Secret Garden' series [link]...I take as a starting point, old memories of gardens of my childhood with their combination of water paths and foliage. This also becomes a metaphor for deeply embedded old memories that rise unbidden in our consciousness; sometimes clear and structured, sometimes vague and formless. Quilt-making with its multiple layers seems an ideal medium for exploring these ideas." - Rosalie Dace

I have an opportunity to take a one week class with Rosalie Dace who is teaching at Quilting by the Lake this year. I have looked at her work on line [link][link] and read about her on a handful of websites and blogs. Her quilts are absolutely sumptuous and appeal to me directly. As well, she appears to be a process person; no patterns or kits provided. On her website she states that her interest is in helping students to bring out what is personal to them in their work, and to encourage them to stretch beyond what they think is possible for them. Great! I am hesitating to proceed though, because I attended a class at the same conference last year and had a very mixed experience, largely because the class I took was poorly organized and, I thought, did not deliver what had been advertised. I would hate to set aside this kind of time and financial resource again for a repeat experience. However, all things in life present certain risk, along with the concomitant possibility of benefit or great gain. So, I'll ponder on it for a few more days and think about the benefits that this experience has to offer. It has long been personal challenge for me to let go of preconceived expectations about how things should or shouldn't be, a challenge which requires a heightened trust in life and in people, and a willingness to allow things to unfold as they may.