posts_per_page displaying the incorrect number of posts

Hello,

I am attempting to display 3 posts on the homepage of a website I’m developing. When I enter the following code, however, it displays 6 posts rather than three. Colour me confused.

<?php if ( is_home() ) {
				$args=array(
						'showposts' => 3,
						'paged'=> 1
					);
				query_posts($args); if ( have_posts() ) : while ( have_posts() ) : the_post(); ?>
			<article class="grid_4">
				<h1><a href="<?php the_permalink() ?>" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to <?php the_title_attribute(); ?>"><?php the_title(); ?></a></h1>
				<section class="entry">
					<?php the_excerpt(); ?>
				</section>
			</article>
			<?php endwhile; else: ?>
			<p><?php _e('Sorry, no posts matched your criteria.'); ?></p>
			<?php endif; } ?>

This is just the bare-bones of the code, to give you an idea of what I’m trying to do. Thanks in advance for your help!

– Pat