Thanks Hilly,
Yes, I bought my waxed nylon thread from Tandy, and I just went to the website and I see that Tandy also sells waxed linen thread. I didn't realize that until you pointed it out. There is no mention of cord size in either of these threads on the Tandy website, so it is hard to tell if one is thicker than the other. I agree with you that the problem in my stitching sample shown in the photo above is that the awl is too large, so I am ordering the Osborne awl as you suggested. What I also decided to do was order various sizes of 3, 5, and 7 cord wnwaxed linen thread from a different supplier and I plan to start experimenting with different needles, awls, and threads so as to try and get the thread size appropriate for the awl stab holes.
Many thanks and merry christmas,
Vivaldi