Are a new way to learn either a new skill or expose your self to something new. I will take classes even when I know the technique because I will learn something that is worth the price of admission. sometimes while you know the skill you weren't ready to implement it or you forgot about that technique that is perfect for what you are doing.
There are 3 classes I can look on that changed my world view.
In the Spring of 1999 I took Vertebrate Paleontology. This is where I met my thesis advisor and this is the class that changed everything. Prior to this class I was working in a behavioral biology lab and waffling about studying behavior biology or molecular genetics. After being the most outspoken, pain in the ass student in class, I was invited to work with my advisor and so a senior thesis with him. That senior thesis directly lead to me becoming his masters Student. Even though I am not actively in paleontology now it is one of the biggest factors in influencing my art. Can I applique a fish on this quilt? Can I applique a fossil fish on it? What did this fish look like? Seriously I spend hours a day contemplating such things.
After coming back from Italy in 2012, I decided I needed to learn how to long arm. One of My local shops rents long arms but you have to take class to learn how to use it. In March 2012, I tool this class. While it was almost all technical on how to run the machine, it gave me my first taste of how these machines work and what I could do with it. I opened up a world of possibilities to me.
In March of 2017, Angela Walters came to teach for our guild. I took all three days of her classes. There were so many pieces of information that made the price of admission worth it. But it wasn't the class itself that changed my life. I ran into a long time colleague from work. We had worked on projects together for 10 years and never knew we were both quilters. She had a BabyLock Crown Jewel II. She wanted to sell so she could upgrade to a bigger machine. I tested out her machine a couple weeks later. Bam! I was a long arm owner. May 13, 2017, we brought it home.