bump version to 1.8.1

[stefanunity]

Description

see title

Changes made

updated version wherever needed

During merge:

• [ ] Commit message for squash-merge is prefixed with one of the list:
  • NEW: ___.
  • FIX: ___.
  • DOCS: ___.
  • CHANGE: ___.
  • RELEASE: 1.1.0-preview.3.