Hi Lisa,
If the seeds are still there, it is not too late: )
You are correct about the frost not damaging them. When you bring them in though, paper bag them, don't have them in plastic. Condensation will harm them.
Remy

I'm not sure if they were still there or not! I collected some dry brown pods and a few that were still greenish. The brown ones were definately empty, and the greenish ones had some tiny hair like things that seemed to be attached to the pod. Could they be the seeds? I wish I had gotten out there sooner.

Hi Lisa,
I did a little search around for you. It seems to be a type of plant that you need to get them out of the pods when the pods dry but right before the pod opens. Because as you noticed the open pods were empty. The things inside the green pods are they hard? Usually even if you don't know what the seed should look like, you can tell by the hardness. Also, ripe seeds normally have an earth color from light brown to black. Usually green or white seeds mean the pod was opened too soon.
If you don't get any viable seed this year, at least you know for next year that it is a kind of plant that you have to check on often to catch ripe pods.
Remy

I've collected seed from tricyrtis latifolia, and they just tumble freely from the pod when ripe. Not sure about others, but the hairlike deals don't sound like what I've experienced with the latifolia anyway.
I know what you mean about waiting too long and being frustrated. I had a great crop of gasplant seeds and waited what seemed like a silly minute too long and lost most of them. sigh