Krys,
The genus Tillandsia is huge, with more than 400 spp. It sounds like you've picked up a Tillandsia cyanea. It should do very nicely with your African violets. You can keep water in the rosette of leaves. Water in the pot (roots) every 5-7 days. It will appreciate some occasional extra misting.

Paul

Paul,
Thank you for your advice. In the interim I've been searching the Internet and it seems that as long as I don't drown the roots, my plant should survive. So I modified my set-up by moving it out of all that rich soil onto a shallow bonsai dish and wiring it over a nice rock, keeping the soil that was still clinging to the roots. I've been misting it but now I'll add some drops into the rosette too.
Tell me if I should not have moved it out of the deep pot.
Krys

Krys,
In the wild, T. cyanea is usually found as an epiphyte, though it seems to be a rather adaptable little plant. I have grown it successfully for years in a pot, and I have grown it mounted on cork. Overall, I find it easier to grow T. cyanea in a pot with a mix of shredded cypress bark/ composted pine bark/ perlite/ and Candian peat moss. Here's a photo of one of my nicer specimens:

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T.cyanea, eh? Has that anything to do with cyanide, perchance?
Should I keep cats away from it, or it from cats?
Thank you for your reply. It's been an experience trying to get that picture out there.
Krys

LOL no not cyanide.. I think it refers to color
FCBS.org is a good place to learn about bromeliads.