Ed is a great guy, so is Randy (Another advocate of Liquid Lace) I make a point of watching them tie up flies at the Calgary show every year. Randy does some incredible golden stones with the product. I use a 29 gauge needle for all my Liquid lace, and don't find it too messy. You do really need to fill them to get the best effect. Using tinsel and some markers, you can create some killer flies. A few years ago, we even did some experimenting with glow in the dark materials being injected into the lace. Lots of fun.