Ledyard shows off the many things you can create

Bill Library started the maker program about two years ago and holds monthly hands-on classes

Ledyard — Rebecca Graebner is “craft challenged,” but she managed to make a cup out of Origami paper after five attempts on Saturday.

It’s harder than it looks, especially if you’re trying to follow written directions from a book, “because it’s not always clear what they mean by ‘fold corner to the pinched corner,’” said Graebner, who volunteered for the activity at “Maker Day” at Bill Library.

“But it shows the spirit of what making is about, which is attempting something you’ve never done before and making mistakes but then being successful,” she said.

The library started the maker program about two years ago and holds monthly hands-on classes, said Andrea Buka, head of technical services and maker program coordinator for Ledyard Public Library. The program started with classes on how to sew and tap maple syrup, and recently added jewelry making and blacksmithing, she said.

On Saturday, the program brought local artisans, crafters and hobbyists to the library to demonstrate their skills.

David Anderson of Ledyard set up a table of do-it-yourself electronics. “This is just kind of like a hobby,” he said, as a small blue robot made a figure eight on the table behind him. The robot looked like it had eyes. What it really had were ultrasound sensors; when it neared a box on the table, it could effectively “see” that it had to make a turn.

Outside, Sean Finlayson of Uncasville talked about what kind of steel was best to use when making knives. He does blacksmithing, and said “spring steel” is most forgiving if you’re starting out.

By that, he means it won’t crack or break when you heat treat it.

Brian Dimmock of Norwich filed the grill of a helmet as Finlayson looked on. Dimmock makes armor, knives and swords as a hobby.

“This is mostly just to show the different kinds of things that you can learn to do, or an activity at the library that you might want to take up.” MARILYN BAESER OF LEDYARD

“I’m probably 35 to 40 hours into it, and I probably have another 10 (hours) to go,” he said of the helmet.

Marilyn Baseler of Ledyard works part time at the library and set up a table about “yarn bombing,” or creations made with yarn. “It’s urban art. It’s like graffiti,” she said.

This year, the library collected miles and miles of knit strips people made and brought in, then wound them around benches and columns in town, she said.

Saturday’s event was a chance to get even more people involved, she said.

“This is mostly just to show the different kinds of things that you can learn to do, or an activity at the library that you might want to take up,” she said.

“It shows the spirit of what making is about, which is attempting something you’ve never done and making mistakes but then being successful.” REBECCA GRAEBNER, WHO ATTENDED MAKER DAY AT BILL LIBRARY IN LEDYARD

SARAH GORDON/THE DAY Sharon Finlayson, left, of Uncasville shows Liam Kelly, 8, of Ledyard how to use a drop spindle to spin yarn as his siblings Maeve, 5, and Aidan, 2, look on during a Maker Day event on Saturday at the Bill Library in Ledyard. The first-ever event...

SARAH GORDON THE DAY Lily Finlayson, 6, of Uncasville and her grandmother Betty Finch of Gales Ferry work on making woven coasters during a Maker Day event on Saturday at the Bill Library in Ledyard. The first-ever event gathered local artisans, craftspeople and tech...