In Handwork, the teacher taught us how to knit, crochet, needlework, and basic sewing. Knitting is what stuck.
I do not have my "early works" handy anymore - I remember crocheting a skirt for my barbie. My first knitted item was a potholder, which had a crocheted edging. I gave it to my Oma, and she kept it all her life.
Here is an early pair of socks that I made, I think I was 16. The first pair was red, and I am not sure where they ended up. I know that this pair is well worn, it has a couple of weak spots on the sole, and they are a bit pilly. The heels and toes are reinforced. The heel is a typical German (or Dutch) square heel, a construction which I adhered to until only a few years ago, when I discovered Nancy Bush.
My Magnum Opus in high school was this cardigan:
My Oma (I come from a family of knitters) had given me equal amounts of 3 colors of Shetland wool for my birthday, which I had picked out. I used a Mon Tricot stitch dictionary and selected my stitch patterns. I knew I had to dsitribute the colors evenly so I woldn't run out of any one of them.
The design at the bottom has rows with 3 colors in them.
I wasn't using a sweater pattern and was making this completely freestyle, from my head. I knew nothing about knitting a sweater in the round, or steeking, so I made the whole thing in pieces, back and forth, and did my darnest to not make it pucker.
I totally winged the sleeve increases and the neckline. Yeah - as if you can't tell by looking at this!
This cardigan took me a year to make, and I wore it proudly, and often!
The back was actually narrower than the fronts...can you see the sideseams? But aside from the construction flaws, I am still in awe of my younger self...
I made this next sweater when I was in college. My roommate and I went down to Munich one weekend and stumbled upon a yarn shop. Even back then, I coudn't pass up an opportunity to buy yarn, and with my limited budget raided a sale basket. This was a bulky weight single ply wool. Turned out there wasn't quite enough, so I had to creatively augment my sweater.
Again, no pattern, freestyle knitting. Back and front different from each other, and sleeves different again. Cables, knit/purl combos, and mistake stitch rib.
view of the back
Another sweater that I loved and wore all the time.
This next one is made from Reynold's Lopi, a yarn I bought during my first year as an exchange student here in the US, 1983. I was very disappointed that there were no yarn shops around here. I did find a nice craft supply store that stocked Reynold's and Unger yarns.
For this one, I again consulted my trusty Mon Tricot stitch dictionary and made the whole thing up.
And again, knitted in pieces, and seamed. 
Some Bohus-style patterning (though I didn't know what that was at the time...) - in bulky yarn!
I know there was a knitting break between the body and the sleeves. Hence the different patterning here.
And there you have it: a brief history of a knitter; beginnings.
