Give subclass of QQuickItem pointer to another C++ object

I very much want to subclass a Qt QQuickItem class for use in QML, therefore giving it a lot of C++ logic behind the scenes. However, since QML will instantiate it and own it, not the C++ side, I do not know how (if it is possible) to pass pointers or connections between this new object and other C++ objects in the system. Is this possible?