My grandmother taught me how to increase, decrease and work yarn-overs when I was around 10 or 12 and I remember knitting about a dozen coat hanger covers. I still have one.
Then during my teenage years, I abandoned knitting and took up crochet (thanks to my other Grandmother). We also immigrated to Canada, so almost everything was left behind in South Africa. I crocheted doilies and a table cloth.
I knitted sporadically when I was pregnant with my children, and only really took it up again with zest about four years ago.
For my first project after years of non-knitting, I decided to knit mittens. I had never knitted in the round, increased for a thumb gusset, or worked stranded color-work. I decided to do all three.
Working with color-work means following charts - another new thing for me. So I took a book out of the library with numerous knitted mitten patterns and decided to use various different little charts to make a sort-of sampler mitten. My son instantly claimed it as his and I had to knit a second one.
My knitting has not looked back from that day. I have knitted all sorts of things - mittens, gloves, socks, hats, sweaters, shawls, etc. And my knitting repertoire now includes lace, fair-isle, intarsia, entrelac, cables, the list goes on.
So all I have to say is don't be afraid! Try something out of your regular comfort zone. It is only yarn; it can be unraveled and you can try again. Who knows what you might achieve if you only take that first step...