Onward and Upwards with the High Society Hat*

My knitting will be kicking into high gear tomorrow when I go to jury duty. I'm bringing the High Society hat project with me and if I'm stuck waiting all day I swear that hat is going to be done by dusk. There isn't any reason I shouldn't be. I've just got three pattern repeats and then the top of the hat to do. That's it. Yes, the chapeau will be complete. Then it will be onto blocking the thing. Since I don't have my hatblock around, I'm thinking about how I can cheat on this part. I could use something like this or even this. What if I just skipped it all together and just did the wiring? What do you think, Milliners of the World who are reading this? Have you ever not blocked a hat and then later wished you had? I need your advice now, and badly. Please aid me in my indecisive moment. To block or not to block is the question. And it just occurred to me now as I was writing. I don't mind blocking, but it feels like an unnecessary step. I've worn at least one thing I've knitted that wasn't blocked and I lived to tell the fashionable tale. No one could tell (although the wire fibers themselves would probably enjoy a steam bath - who doesn't?). Anyhow, it's just food for early-morning thought right now as I'm already thinking about Hat no. 2.
Okay, I've returned from jury duty which was adjourned at noon, just in time for lunch. While there was absolutely no action and no one in the room was called, I got lots done on the hat. I'm in the last repeat pattern, which means I could be done knitting the baby by tonight. I feel a little stunned at the thought. I mean this was the chapeau I was avoiding. I had it in my head that it was going to be the hardest thing not ever but at least in the month of August. It's only the 19th; I've got plenty of August to embark on even more challenging projects. Now that's a truly dizzying thought. You know what? I'm just proud of myself for just diving into this pattern. That's right. I give myself a pat on the back for that part. Now I'm thinking of emailing Annie Modesitt to find out if there's a way I can bypass blocking. It's just too warm to do anything more than walk (not run) around the block, and most certainly it's not the weather to do anything that involves steam.
* By the way, here's a link to a Continental Airlines story I wrote on hats.