I lived in a house with a ghost.....a VERY ANNOYING GHOST, who loved to keep moving the manual can opener. After having to hunt for the darned thing many times, I bought a second. Think that slowed him down? Nooooo. Finally, I gave up, bought A DOZEN. Threw them on the counter, told him to enjoy himself, lol. I could always find one after that, lol.
Hope you find your quilt top soon. Have someone else help you look. That usually works.