Fully lined goodness

Thursday night I went dancing, of all things. My friends Neal and Emily invited me to meet them up in Lincoln Square, where a live swing band (The Flat Cats) was playing and people were dancing. Neal and Emily met at swing dancing lessons so I asked if I could go and just watch. I mean, I can silently chant toe-heel, toe-heel, rock back with the best of them, but I knew that my few lessons weren't going to match people that didn't have to think each step in time to the music that they had counted out in their head before taking a step.

It was a beautiful night after a stinky hot day. The music was good and the dancers were fun to watch. I thought, "I should take pictures of this classic Chicago experience so that I can share it on my blog." Then I thought about my crappy camera phone and looked at my feet dejectedly. Then, I remembered that my friend had bought a camera for a trip that he wasn't going to use much, so he loaned it to me on a somewhat permanent basis. However, I didn't have it, either. I realized that if that new camera (which is about the size of a credit card) was going to do me any good as a blogger, I would need to find a way to protect it so I could casually throw it in my bag whenever I was going out.

So, I present to you:Tiny little bags present a few problems for my machine, even with a free arm. (BTW, loved the free arm for the tiny little RenFaire costumes.) However, I soldiered through.

My love of lined pouches stems from one of my early trips to the Faire as a teenaged patron. A woman had an entire shop of these little lined pouches that had little belt loops on the inside. She made Elena and I promise that we wouldn't compete with her by selling them and then showed us how to make them. I made the pink one my first year to match the aqua costume and the green one a few years later out of scraps with brown lining to match my costume that year. They have served me extremely well. Big enough to hold sunblock, keys, cards and cash while still having room for a little shortbread from the bakery wrapped in waxed paper. When I worked there, I also carried little glass stones to give to kids whose parents wouldn't buy them garlands. I told them stories about dragon poop or fairy raindrops and how either could grant wishes.

So, I've scratched the lined bag itch one more time to contain the camera and its cords. I love summer break.